The Last Master
by Woona The Cat
Summary: Shirou Emiya, due to an unfortunate meeting with Rin's whimsical master is transported to an alternate universe where the fate of mankind is monitored by a futuristic organization known as Chaldea, and suddenly finds himself the last remaining hope for the survival of humanity. From crazy Servants to familiar faces, Shirou will have to navigate through time itself to save the day.
1. Prologue: The Last Master

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of the Nasuverse.

* * *

Prologue: The Last Master

Shirou sat frozen on the comfortable antique chair, not a single muscle in his body moving lest he provoke the whimsical wrath of the all-powerful being sitting lazily in front of him. He really wanted to close his eyes in the hopes that maybe if he didn't see the monster in an old man's beard, it would disappear.

"Why so tense my boy?" a whimsical voice asked, suddenly standing up, a long cane glinting with a strange light from his right hand. Shirou didn't want to look at it, or else he'd get a mind-splitting head-ache. However, the thing that scared him the most was that he knew if he looked at his inner bladeworks, the blasted thing would be there mocking him. "After all, you're basically my apprentice too…well, my apprentice's apprentice."

Shirou almost wanted to throw himself out the window right then and there. Rin would berate him later for it, but it would definitely be worth it. There was no way she would blame him for it too. Plus, if this got a little too dicey with her, he could always bribe her with food and one of her wilder bedroom requests.

Things had become rather interesting ever since he and Rin had come to study at the Clocktower. The transition had been rough for him especially, mostly because he had a lot less patience for the game of politics and intrigue that overshadowed every single interaction between magi.

Luckily, Rin excelled at that. She had managed to flourish at the Clocktower, despite the open hostility and racism. It was hard to argue with her results after all, and Shirou had been really reminded how brilliant his lover actually was multiple times ever since. Of course, that had backfired a bit in the end.

Sometimes, he really wondered what the hell she had done to gain the attention of Zelretch of all beings after the Holy Grail War had concluded. The Clocktower was already enough of a headache. Having to deal with Zelretch, the all-powerful Wizard Marshal with a mischievous streak that bordered on outright malicious and cruel.

Initially, Rin had been ecstatic when Zelretch had taken her on as an apprentice, but that had quickly turned into fury, embarrassment and thinly veiled tolerance once she got to experience what Zelretch deigned was "training". However, Rin wasn't the type to give up easily, and the benefits were quite noticeable, given her rapidly expanding repertoire and reputation.

"With all due respect…I'm not excited in the slightest," Shirou answered truthfully, pulling a face. He really…really...really wanted to trace a Black Key right now and run for it. Maybe he'd make it to the 15th floor if he was lucky.

"I have a little request for you my boy," Zelretch continued flippantly, idly closing the blinds which Shirou had been eyeing strangely for a while. He mentally shrugged, deciding to not think too hard about it.

"I take it you aren't taking 'no' for an answer..." Shirou said with a sigh, "I don't even know why you want a third-rate magus like me for whatever god-forsaken task you have in your twisted mind."

"Oh, nothing too bad. Just something a huge justice-nut like you is all about," the magician continued blithely, "Wouldn't you like that? A chance to save a world and all that?" He grinned widely at the predictable response he knew was coming.

Shirou twitched in annoyance, really wishing right now that he was built differently. The moment he heard the words "save" and "world" combined, he would have a tough time deciding against whatever crazy ploy Zelretch had cooked up. It had gotten a lot better after Rin beat some sense into him, but at his core Shirou was someone who wanted to save others.

"And…what exactly do I get out of this?" Shirou asked, his tone measured as he tried to hold back his inner need to galivant off to save people. Rin would be appalled if he didn't at least try to get something out of a bad deal. Plus, while he definitely wanted to save people, he wasn't masochistic enough to bend to Zelretch's will so easily.

"Oh? It seems Rin has been training you well if you're able to bargain a bit like a magus already," the old vampire teased, "Rest assured, I have a few things for you before you go. Plus, I'll send our favorite pigtailed girl along in a month when she finally returns from her mission." Shirou perked up a bit at that. He really missed Rin after all.

"And the catch?"

"Just a surprise here and there and…let's just say that you might need to brush up on your combat skills…a lot. And I mean **a lot** ," he said seriously, twirling his cane around in his hands as he passively gathered mana from across the multiverse, "Are we in agreement?" Shirou sighed, mentally cursing the existence known as Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg.

"Fine. What am I…"

"No time for that my boy! I'm afraid we're on a tight schedule," the Wizard Marshal cheered as he suddenly blasted Shirou with a spell. Shirou immediately seized as foreign knowledge directly and forcibly entered his mind. It wasn't pleasant in the slightest…

Swords.

Shields.

Spears.

Daggers.

Bows.

The Grail.

The Archer.

And an endless hill of swords.

"What…the…hell…are you doing!" Shirou managed to roar out as the pain began to overwhelm him. His whole being was burning as Zelretch's spell took hold.

"Oh, nothing too big. Just imparting some knowledge from your multiple selves across the universes. An oversimplification, but I highly doubt you'd understand the technical jargon that comes with the intricacies of the Kaleidoscope. Long story short, I'm pulling bits and pieces of yourself from across the multiverse and imbuing you with their essence, especially the interesting EMIYA paths."

"WHAT! Archer! I don't want anything to…"

"Much too late for that," Zelretch waved off, "I'm curious if this will change your constitution though…hmm maybe it'll make you like **her**. That would be fun. Hold on now, I'm pulling the rest through." Shirou silently screamed as the pain finally reached its climax with every nerve ending in his body lighting up. Despite all of his experience with pain, this easily reached the highest levels he had ever felt in his life.

Each new memory felt like a sword, stabbing him over and over again, not in his body, but in his very soul. His inner bladeworks were straining as they were forcibly expanded and made to accommodate a staggering amount of weapons. With each new weapon, their histories, users, skills, composition, rankings, and abilities tore through his mind. Those that were beyond his comprehension were jammed in forcibly without any regard. Skills that weren't his were imprinted on his body mercilessly. Events that had sculptured his life were swishing around in his mind.

Then it all came to an end.

Shirou lay on the ground, dazed and barely conscious as his vision was beginning to darken. He could hardly breathe as his mind and soul struggled to process the sudden influx of information and foreign yet familiar memories.

"Hmm…not sure if this is enough though," Zelretch pondered, a sudden idea coming to him. With a shit-eating grin he created a portal and pulled a strange looking orb out of it. It pulsated with foreign and otherworldly power, gently lighting up the room in violet light as the soft whisper of howling floated through. Shrugging, he cracked open the sphere and dropped it next to Shirou's body, watching intently as the light rose up and scanned the room. It visibly recoiled from Zelretch and promptly disappeared into the barely-conscious Shirou as the only living host in the immediate vicinity.

For just a second, a violet glow outlined Shirou's fallen figure before disappearing mysteriously. For a few minutes, Zelretch observed the unconscious young man to see if there was going to be any rejection, and to his satisfaction, Shirou didn't spontaneously explode.

"Perfect!" the old vampire said with a satisfied clap, almost giddy. He couldn't wait to see the boy's reaction, "Well then! Off you go Shirou Emiya. I'm expecting some great entertainment."

The last thing Shirou saw was a swirling mass of infinite color before being greeted by darkness, cursing Zelretch the entire time.

* * *

Shirou's eyes snapped open, knowing immediately where he was and wasn't. It all felt the same and yet so completely alien. Staring up at the starry sky above, Shiro lay flat on the ground, half-immersed in water as blades of golden rice swayed to whimsical air currents. Sitting up, he stared out at the rolling fields of gold, confirming his suspicions. It was quickly overshadowed by amazement though…

For in the field lay countless blades, scattered and embedded into the ground, glinting underneath the blue moonlight. Shirou was at a loss for words. This was his inner bladeworks and yet not. Just what the hell had Zelretch done to him?

Standing, he found himself transfixed by the sudden beauty of his inner world. It was unbelievable as it was disturbing. Once a desolate wasteland filled with nothing but swords and sand, it had been transformed into an unending glade of blades. The gentle breeze that flew through the world caused rolling waves of golden rice blades to sway gently among the endless pieces of steel.

However, that begged the question as to how Zelretch had managed to manipulate his Reality Marble, an extension of his own reality and soul. The implications were very, very frightening. However, he couldn't deny that it felt more…full than ever before. And it was absolutely breathtaking.

There was also a new standout feature. In, what he assumed was the middle of his world, a house stood. It was small, possessing no greater than three or four rooms at best. It was a simple, yet comforting sort of home, designed with in a traditional Japanese style, but what really drew his attention was the fixture sitting outside the house.

A fully operating forge that lightly smoked underneath the moon…

Shirou didn't understand and the whole thing make him even more worried what Zelretch had done to him. He took a step forth to investigate, only for his vision to blacken once again as the world spun.

* * *

Shirou groaned for what felt like the umpteenth time today, feeling a strange wetness on his cheek. His entire body hurt, and he really didn't want to move around. However, the sound of someone calling for him caused him to creek his eyes open.

The first thing that greeted him was a strange creature. It sat on his chest in a rather satisfactory sort of way, tilting its head in curiosity. It had snow-white fur with long ears and a large bushy tail. It kind of reminded him of a dog if he were to be honest, but its small squirrely appearance made him think otherwise.

"Senpai? Are you awake?" a soft, timid voice asked, and Shirou would have mistook it for Sakura if the voice wasn't so different. Realizing he was laid out on the cold, metallic floor, he quickly sat up to find the concerned face of a girl peering down at him.

She was definitely not a normal-looking girl. That much was certain, Shirou decided as he studied her face hidden behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses and light pink hair. By his estimates, she looked no older than sixteen, maybe seventeen. Her expression was rather reserved with a tinge of concern on her timid face.

"Senpai? Hello?"

"Ah, my apologies," Shirou said, taking a good long look around. There was nothing he recognized, and the very futuristic vibe he got from the sliver hallway only cemented his knowledge that Zelretch really had sent him into a parallel universe. "Where are we? Who are you?"

"Oh…um well, I'm not…" she murmured, looking away from Shirou, "Never mind that. Anyway, we're actually in front of the main room of Chaldea, the Central Command Room."

"Fou!" the little white squirrel-dog-thing chirped, climbing onto the girl and resting on her shoulder.

"I…see," he answered slowly, standing up and dusting off his pants. Doing a full look around, he frowned at the unfamiliarity of it all. Everything looked like a stereotypical structure built in the far future. "What year is it?"

"Huh?" the girl asked, startled, "2015?"

Shiro blinked. He could hardly believe it. The difference in time was only a few years at best from when he left his own world, but the advances in technology were unbelievable. There was more technology in this one hallway, than all of his years of childhood combined, by far.

"Um…are you alright, Senpai? Do you normally like to sleep outside on hard floors like this?" the girl asked, concerned.

"Fou!"

"Sleeping…" Shirou muttered, mentally grimacing as the reality of being transported to another reality started to seep in. "No not normally, at least not without a futon…" There was a lot he needed to learn. Why had Zelretch sent him to this universe specifically? What had he done to him? How was he going to get home?

"I see…" she said a little awkwardly as the animal on her shoulder began to yip again, "Oh and this is Fou. It seems he's taken a liking to you, Senpai. That is quite odd actually…He's not one to interact with people."

"He's an odd creature himself," Shirou commented as Fou jumped off of his caretaker and began walking around. He remained silent as he observed the animal, his nose detecting a powerful scent hanging around the creature, more accurately a phantasmal beast. Though, that begged the question, what kind and why.

"Ah there you are, Mash," a new friendly voice suddenly interjected as a man of German descent walked over from down the hall, "Please do not walk around without alerting the staff. It really could cause some problems."

"Sorry Dr. Lainur."

"Oh, but who is this?" he said, turning towards Shirou whose expression suddenly turned tight.

"Emiya, Shirou," Shirou introduced himself as he stared into the man's smiling face.

"You must be one of the Masters then. Wonderful!" Lev Lainur continued cheerfully, "It's great that we finally have all 48 Masters capable of Spiritron Dives in one place. Without a doubt, our mission will be a success. I see you're acquainted with Mash though. Have you met before?"

"No," Mash answered simply, "I found Senpai sleeping on the floor here."

"Sleeping? Oh, I see," the man chuckled, "Likely a side effect of your first simulation. It's not uncommon for first-timers to be subjected to sleep-walking-like side-effects. It's likely how Mash found you."

Shirou remained silent, training his stare on Lev's face, his expression blank.

"Anyways Mr. Emiya," Lev continued, "I'm looking forward to your work. Tell me, how experienced are you? How long was the training?"

"Senpai is a civilian Dr. Lainur," Mash interjected since Shirou didn't seem to be keen on answering.

"I see. So, a civilian then. Well that's absolutely okay. Heritage here doesn't matter. Only your ability as a Master is really important," Lev continued, not catching the look of surprise on Shirou's face, "Well then, welcome to Chaldea. The Director is about to give her orientation for newbies soon, so I suggest we head over."

The rest of the conversation carried between Mash and Lev was lost to Shirou, because the whole time, he could only recoil in disgust at the scent that whirled around the man known as Lev Lainur, the scent of decay, disease and death.

* * *

Shirou's first impressions of the Director of Chaldea, Olga Marie Animusphere, was that she was definitely the quintessential magus. There was a ruthlessness in her that he both detested and respected. She was very young though, and through that, he could see some of her shortcomings, mainly her complete reliance on the man known as Lev Lainur. Her absolute inability to compromise was also troubling.

Still, the session had been interesting, even if he only understood half of what it was about. It was actually rather amazing when he thought of it all in context.

Chaldea was an organization dedicated to the survival of mankind. Utilizing a direct connection to Gaia, it projected Earth onto a miniature planet, nicknamed Chaldeas. There were a bunch of other complicated systems that the Director had touched on like LAPLACE, SHIVA, FATE and TRISMEGISTUS, but Shirou didn't really bother to learn about it.

All he needed to know was that Chaldea was focused on the preservation of mankind through the observation of history, past, present and future. Masters, like him, were expected to transport themselves through critical points in time to ensure the continuation of history, and with the assistance of Servants, theoretically, they could correct any abnormalities. The summoning of Servants, apparently, hadn't been completely sorted yet.

It was all amazing to Shirou. To know that the winner of the Grail War, Marie's ancestor, had made use of the Grail's wish like this…

However, his wonder was quickly doused as Dr. Lev Lainur took the stage to explain to the Masters their first mission. As someone seated in the front row, Shirou could smell the evil leaking off of the man easily, and it was getting more and more potent with each passing sentence. Something was going to happen…

"Trace on…" Shirou muttered in his seat, briefly stunned at how fast his magic circuits responded to his aria, another undocumented change of Zelretch he'd have to explore later. Using his newfound sense of control, Shirou analyzed the room through his feet, looking for anything out of place. It would take a while, given the size of the room and the complexity of the machinery around him, but Shirou was anything if not patient.

Seconds quickly stretched into minutes as Shirou diligently looked through the entire room. A lot of what was coming to his mind was amazing to behold, technology beyond his wildest dreams, circuitry smaller than the size of a needle, materials stronger than steel and thinner than paper…

"You. The Master who was late… What are you doing?" the irritated voice of Marie Animusphere half asked, half yelled as Shirou was busy Structurally Analyzing the room. Much to her annoyance, the strange new Master, who had walked in late, with brilliant red-orange hair didn't answer her. "Get in your Coffin! What are you doing!? Don't tell me you fell asleep you imbecile! What the hell are you doing still sitting there? We're all waiting on you!"

Then, Shirou found exactly what he feared, snapping his eyes wide open in urgency as he looked upon the furious face of Olga Marie up on the stage. He only had a second to move.

"Hmph. I can't believe someone like you…"

"Trace on!"

Then the world exploded in fire…

* * *

Shirou Emiya was born in pain, fire and suffering. Thus, when he awoke from his moment of unconsciousness after diving to save the Director from certain death, he was not scared of the roaring fire and destruction that surrounded him. With a groan, he felt bits of the ceiling laying on his back and legs, and only through the minimal action of Avalon, as usual, he survived. He could feel it working overtime to heal the fractures, cuts and burns all over his body.

Looking beneath him, he sighed in relief and sadness at the unconscious form of Marie Animusphere. He had managed to save her from the bomb placed directly underneath her feet at the exact last moment. However, she hadn't come away unscathed. Looking down, he could only regretfully stare, wishing he was better. While the explosion hadn't robbed her of her life, the bottom half of both of the Director's legs were gone, completely annihilated from the knees downward and sealed by the fiery explosion.

"Wh..what's…" she groggily murmured, coming to after the blast wave had knocked her out.

"Director, I need you to look at me," Shirou said seriously, shaking her awake. Her eyes focused quickly, recognizing him.

"You! I…" Marie screamed wanting to get up and kick the boy in front of her, only to freeze as the command to move her feet didn't elicit a response. Color draining from her face, she looked down at her body and then screamed. Holding her face in disbelief, she shook it rapidly, not wanting to believe it. Her legs…her legs…

"I'm sorry. I couldn't save you fast enough," Shirou said with a grimace as he stood, bending down to pick up the shocked girl who went deathly silent, tremors beginning to snake through her body, "We need to get out of here. Someone's sabotaged the place."

"No…No…Lev…Lev…I…"

"Director!" Shirou yelled, feeling extremely guilty about it, "I need you to calm down. Focus. Lead me. I don't know what's going on at all!" Then, another pile of rubble shuffled in the back of the room as a figure rose from the fire and rock. She was bleeding from her head, rather profusely, but the fact that she managed to survive was a miracle.

"Warning! Warning!" the PA system suddenly announced, "Power levels critical. Switching to backup generator…Error. Manual override needed. Containment wall closing in 40 seconds. Any remaining personnel in the Central Command must evacuate immediately."

"Mash!" Shirou recognized, running over to the dazed girl with Marie in his arms, "Oh my god! Are you alright?"

"Senpai?" Mash muttered, wobbling on her feet, blood beginning to drain down her face, "You…you survived...Thank goodness. Wait…is that, the Director…"

"I barely managed to save her," Shirou confirmed, grimacing as he looked around the rest of the room, wondering how many people had died. Gritting his teeth in anger, he vowed to pay back Lev Lainur for this. To be unable to save so many people right in front of him made his blood boil, and in many ways, it became personal at that point for Shirou.

"The Masters…" Marie whispered weakly as she pointed at the Coffins, "They need to be saved…Cryo...Put them into cryo. Goddammit. Where's Lev…"

"Run, Senpai," Mash said, collapsing onto her knees as her condition finally caught up to her, "You can't save me…Save yourself and the Director. I'm not worth it."

"What the hell are you saying!" Shirou roared, his entire being taking offense at Mash's statement, "I'll definitely save you. I'm not leaving you here." He bent down to pick up the fallen girl, only to be forced to jump back as apiece of flaming debris crashed down between them.

"System switching to final prep phase for Rayshift. Coordinates locked and set. AD 2004, January 30th, Fuyuki, Japan," the PA droned on. Shirou's jaw opened in surprise. "Laplace's protection and prediction program established. Singularity set and established. Unsummoning protocol confirmed. Please adjust for any final parameter changes."

"It…can't work," Marie said, staring at the coffins, "The Masters..."

Then, the small globe, Chaldeas changed. From its normally serene color of blue, it transformed into an angry red. Marie's already pale face seemed to drain of all its color.

"Warning! Warning! Warning! Chaldeas' state has changed. All observation staff are advised to note time and state. Data is being processed for Shiva's near-future prediction algorithm. Code Red. Code Red. Unable to detect the existence of mankind 100 years in the current timeline of Earth. Unable to detect any human life. No guarantee for the continued survival of mankind."

"It can't be…No…all of my life's work," Marie cried as her constitution continued to worsen, "Lev! Lev! Please! Where are you! Save me! Please…Why…why…why! Why haven't you come to fix it all and save me! Lev!" She wailed uncontrollably in Shirou's arms, flailing around ungracefully to the point where Shirou almost dropped her on the ground. Trauma was setting in rapidly and finally, Marie couldn't take it anymore and passed out.

"Main area sealed. Prepare for Rayshift in 180 seconds."

"It seems we're stuck here," Shirou said gravely as he stared into the self-contained hell that burned around him, having finally managed to make it over the piece of ceiling. Mash nodded with a sad and grateful smile, happy that someone had sincerely tried to save her.

"Coffin vital signs taken…Warning! All current Masters unsuited for Rayshift. Baseline vitals indicate immediate medical attention required. Rayshift requirements not met. Scanning area for suitable Master…"

"Found…Master Shirou Emiya designated as new Master. Unsummoning beginning. Spiritron conversion in process. Secondary life form found, unsuitable for Master status. Third life form detected as Servant…"

Shirou's eyes widened in surprise.

"Ano…Senpai?" Mash questioned as she shuffled closer to Shirou as they all started to shine with mana, "Would you mind…if I held onto you?"

"Rayshift beginning in 3…2…1…"

* * *

 **A/N**

Grand Order's story-line and background information is actually rather interesting. There's a lot of potential there that I hope to capture, though there is the difficulty in translating a phone game/psuedo vn into a worthy tale. Still, I think it should be fun to mess around with multiple servants and the problem child that is Shirou Emiya.

Some people might point out that Rin wasn't supposed to be mentored by Zelretch in the UBW route, but creative license and whatnot.

Hope you enjoyed, and thank you for reading!

-Woona the Cat


	2. Ch1: From the Embers

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Nasuverse.

 **A/N**

A little word of warning for people who may be potentially triggered by suicidal thoughts. Please take care.

* * *

Chapter 1 – From the Embers

Shirou knew immediately where he was when the light finally died away, and the familiarity of the scene was enough to send him spiraling into memories he wished to forget. Fire. Destruction. Pain. Tragedy. Death. To experience the dreaded Fuyuki Fire once was enough to crack his soul, but to see it again, to feel and smell it all again was more frightening than his nightmares.

Yet, this was worse…

All around him, there was nothing but desolate ruins. No life could be seen for hundreds of yards among the burnt rubble and dying embers. The once beautiful city of Fuyuki was nothing more than a smoking wasteland, and even the sky above burned and choked on the endless stream of rising smoke.

And among it all, the scent of evil magecraft clung to the air like a noxious parasite. Then the sound of creaking bones slithered through the air.

"Kyaa! What! What are those! Wh..what!" Marie's sudden scream rent through the air as she scrambled in Shirou's arms. He would have likely dropped her too if she didn't have a death grip on his shoulders and neck.

"Senpai!" the voice of Mash cut in behind him, stronger and with a confidence Shirou didn't know the girl possessed, "Enemies are approaching!" Looking behind him, he gawked at the sudden appearance of a few dozen skeletons wielding nameless swords, lances and bows.

However, the thing he stared at longer was Mash's drastic transformation. Gone was the timid girl who looked more at ease blending into the background. In her place, a woman wearing body-tight, black and dark-purple armor took to the battlefield. He didn't really have time to comment on her rather lewd manner of dress, because he saw the weapon she wielded.

The moment his eyes laid upon the weapon, he knew what it was. It was a beautiful Noble Phantasm, masterfully crafted and flawless, but what it represented resonated even deeper in his soul. He could feel its weight deposit in his soul.

"Your orders Master!" Mash yelled as she swung the large hunk of metal like it was a small twig in the breeze, snapping one of the approaching skeletons in half. She dug her shield into the ground suddenly as the sound of whizzing arrows approached and stopped dead on her weapon. Shirou shook himself out of admiring the legendary weapon and turned his head toward the battle instantly, his long experience taking over.

"Mash! Protect the Director at all costs," he said urgently as he gently laid the woman down on the ground despite her protests and screams. The Director almost grabbed onto his leg as he walked off, mainly because of the creepy skeletons that were staring right at her.

"What about you Master?" Mash voiced in concern as she tore through another wave of undead, "Your safety is…"

"Not necessary," Shirou stated calmly, eyeing his enemies with a determined expression. These guys were nothing compared to some of the monsters he had faced. Compared to a Servant or Dead Apostle, these guys were akin to dust on the ground. Saber and Rin would laugh at him if he were defeated by such nameless enemies. "Trace On!"

Instantly, in his hands, the familiar and comfortable Married Twin Blades, Kanshou and Bakuya, appeared, and Shirou rose his brows in surprise for just a single moment at their quality before flying into the hoard of shambling skeletons. There was time to analyze his new control over his magecraft later.

Mash and Olga Marie could only stare in shock as the supposed no-name magus took to the battlefield, dancing through the multiple rows of enemies. His blows were precise and swift, possessing a strength that belied his frame and easily slicing through metal and bone. Effortlessly, he blocked and countered, defeating enemy after enemy while making it look as simple as breathing. As he swept through the battlefield, bones and broken weapons clattered on the ground.

Then there was only one left, but it was clear it was stronger than the others. Shrouded in a large red rag, creeping shadows leaked from the barely held-together clothing. It rushed at Shirou, thinking he was exhausted after fighting so many, but was shocked to hear the loud clang of metal striking metal.

With a yell of fury, Shirou overpowered the monster, causing its darkened weapon to spin out of its hands, and with a swing too fast for the normal human-eye to see, its head rolled off of is shoulders as it began to dissipate into nothingness.

Scanning the battlefield one last time, Shirou took a deep breath, dispelling his copied Noble Phantasms into pure motes of mana. Frowning in thought, he wondered what sort of unholy power could call up so many undead and so easily. While they weren't all that threatening alone, the sheer amount of them was something to be worried about.

His ponderings were quickly cut short when he realized he had an audience.

"Senpai! That was amazing!" Mash said in awe, as she laid protectively over the speechless Director, "How did you do that? Where did you learn to fight like that?" Never in her life had she seen a human being fight with such prowess, if she didn't know better, she would have guessed she had been watching a Heroic Spirit.

"I've…had a bit of a rough life," Shirou admitted slowly, wondering how to explain himself, "I've also worked with the Enforcers before."

"What!?" Marie yelled, "That wasn't anywhere on your dossier. The only information we dug up was that you were a normal civilian."

"A truth and a lie. I'm considered sort of a…special consultation service," Shirou voiced as he walked over and inspected his impromptu companions, satisfied that there were no injuries that needed immediate medical attention, "Ignoring my boring past, what happened to you Mash?"

"Um…I mean…"

"She became a Demi-Servant," Marie explained, frustration in her voice, "How did it awaken now? After all these years…"

"I don't know Director," Mash answered quietly, "All I know is that whatever heroic spirit is bound to my soul, they saved me. I should have died in that explosion, but he saved me and gave me his powers. I don't know anything about my abilities or this weapon. All I have right now is my new physical ability."

"Galahad…" Shirou said reflexively, causing Mash and Marie to turn towards him in surprise, "The Innocent Knight of the Round Table. Your weapon is a shield, but it is not truly a shield. It represents the Round Table itself…a place where heroes gather and the desire to protect for victory…"

Mash was stunned.

"That can't possibly be…"

"No…Senpai is right. That name resonates in my very soul, and I can feel the history of my weapon slowly unfurling. Galahad…" Mash whispered, looking at her shield in awe and gratitude. Despite everything she had suffered in her life, knowing that her heroic spirit had been watching over her to protect her all of her life filled her with a sense of happiness.

"How. The. Hell. Do you know this?" Olga Marie yelled from her position on the ground, sorely wishing she could walk over there and shake the infuriating magus known as Shirou Emiya, "I didn't even know who Mash was bound to! That information was taken to my father's grave."

"There's no time for that right now," Shirou suddenly said, his senses picking up enemies closing in on their position, "We need to move. Without a doubt, there are more of those monsters coming. You can ask me questions along the way." Ignoring her protests once again, Shirou picked up the young director bridal style. Gathering his prana, he prepared to reinforce his body. "Mash, keep up."

"Hai, Master," Mash replied as Shirou took off, bounding over a two-story building in one hop. She blinked in surprise before chalking it up to just another mysterious Shirou thing before jumping after him.

* * *

After a few hours of running around and being attacked randomly by mobs of monsters, the impromptu trio found themselves a brief respite in the ruins of a broken-down grocery store. Though at this point, it was more akin to a cave if anything else. It was pitch black, both in color and lighting, and only through Shirou's dedicated sweeping, via projected broom, did it resemble anything close to a store.

For the Director, it was absolutely awful.

She was tired. She was sore. Her whole body was caked in dust, dirt, soot and grime. On top of it all, she couldn't even get her own fresh air by walking outside. So, she sat in an isolated corner of the cave, unable to even curl up her knees and wish the whole thing away.

No matter what she tried, nothing but dark thoughts clouded her mind. Poisonous thoughts of her failure and inability to be useful plagued her constantly. Out of the three of them, she was by far the most useless...

She had once dreamed of jumping straight into the singularity with her organization at her back, obeying her orders to the letter. She had even prepared a special mystic code for performing a Spiritron Dive, specifically so she could lead her troops. However, now that she was on the battlefield, she wanted nothing more than to crawl into a ball back in her room at Chaldea and cry herself to sleep.

Olga Marie knew she wasn't a very tolerant person. Her upbringing as an important heir to the Animusphere family ensured that. From all of her upbringing, she had been assured in her position in life. Her quality as a magus was extremely high, and her talent for magecraft even more so. She had believed in her family's mission and had been proud of her family's accomplishments, especially her father's.

To be known as part of the family that was dedicated to the continual survival of mankind across the globe was a great confidence booster. Then, her life fell apart, all within the span of months.

Her father suddenly committed suicide, and her mother had been devastated, dying shortly after. Her status as a mage with zero ability as a Master became public knowledge at the Clocktower, and then she was forced to take over her father's institution, Chaldea, at an extremely young age while still in school. With it, the knowledge of her father's inhuman human experiments came to light, causing her belief in her family's righteousness to crumble. Everything she had believed in, her family's dedication to mankind, her own status in the world, was a lie.

And she suffered for it.

For three months, she had devolved into hysterics and acute anorexia. With her health and reputation failing, all of her allies had disappeared. She had no one. No friends to call upon, no family to fall back on, and no success to her name. Olga Marie Animusphere had been at her wits end, waiting to die, unmissed and unloved by anyone. Despite all of her hard work and dedication, she had nothing…

Then, a miracle had happened. She had been saved. Dr. Lev Lainur had rescued her. With his help, Chaldea had been reinvigorated. His knowledge and skills managed to fine-tune the already existing systems at Chaldea. Then, he managed to create the FATE system and integrate TRISMEGISTUS many years later. With his help, Chaldea had been transformed into a worldwide power and name.

Then…on the eve of their first, true mission, everything had gone wrong again.

Why? Why her? Had she done something terrible to deserve such a pitiful fate? Now, Lev was likely dead. Her organization was in shambles. Her body was mutilated beyond repair, and humanity was going to disappear.

She had failed. At less than twenty-five years of age, she was a woman with nothing.

"Are you okay, Director?" Mash asked suddenly, having noticed the grim mood her boss had been in. As soon as they had made camp, it had been noticeable, but Mash hadn't wanted to pry.

"I'm just peachy," she snapped back, recoiling instantly at the slightly affronted face of Mash, her previous trauma coming back to haunt her. Now that Mash had power…

"She's just worried about you, you know," Shirou interjected with a frown, having just returned from foraging for food. There hadn't been a lot out there, given the nature of the fire, but there would be enough for now. They were actually quite lucky that the Director habitually carried dried nuts and fruits. He could definitely swing it with those ingredients. If there was anything he liked about the new upgrades Zelretch had saddled him with, it was the cooking knowledge.

"You two should just leave me," she muttered darkly, "I'm nothing more than a burden here. Go to the nearby ley line, establish a summoning circle with Mash's shield. You can re-establish communications with Chaldea. I'm better off…"

"Stop that," Mash commanded, anger in her voice, "I'm not going to leave you behind. Shirou-senpai isn't going to leave you behind."

"I'm not worth it," Marie murmured before it all came crashing down. She wanted to run away and hide, but seeing only her useless nubs move in response, she broke. "Look at me…Look at me! What am I worth? I'm a crippled mage with nothing. All of my plans. All of my hopes and dreams…. gone. Lev isn't here. He's probably dead. I have nothing! I'm nothing more than a useless magus, heir to inhumanity and a failed legacy." Shirou paused, a frown on his face as Marie began to sob in earnest, the stress and trauma finally getting to the normally cold woman.

"If I was gone…who would care? I'm a horrible person. I've made people's lives miserable. I've trampled over anyone in my way without any regards to their lives. I cared for no one…and now…no one cares for me. If I died right here, if I just threw myself into the fires outside…which I can't bloody well do because I'm a fucking cripple! No one would care! Goddammit!"

"Director!"

"I did this! All those lives back in the chamber! 47 lives…and more of my staff… How many lives do I have hanging over me? How much blood do I have on my hands?" she said, her voice trembling, as her hysterics began to swing in full force, "I'm useless. I'm a crybaby. I can't fight to save my life. I'm scared of anything related to battle. Nothing in my life I've achieved on my own. I'm a worthless human being who should just slit her own thr…"

"MARIE!" Mash yelled, slapping Olga harshly, tears in her eyes, "Don't you dare! Don't you dare talk like that! I won't let you…If you died, I would care! I would cry!"

Olga Marie Animusphere froze, holding her burning cheek in bewilderment. Above her she could only gape at the teary-eyed Demi-Servant, wondering.

"Why?" Marie whispered, holding her face in shock, "After everything my family has done to you! It's because of my family that you're like this! It's because of my family that you suffer every day! I look at you and see the face of someone who should want me dead!"

"You never did anything to me Marie…" Mash said softly, grasping the Director's shaking hands tightly, "I don't remember you administering the injections. I don't remember you forcibly infusing me with mana. You didn't perform the surgeries or the tests. I don't remember anything like that when I think of you. If you ever felt guilty because of what your father did to me, please don't. And if you still feel bad, I forgive you."

"Why?" she croaked, "Why? I'm not a good person. I've never done anything to earn forgiveness or kindness. What everyone says about me is true. I deserve nothing!"

"I'm well aware that you're a very evil person Marie," Mash stated simply, "At least…that's what you portray outwardly. Deep down though, I don't think so. When you interacted with me in the past, I couldn't believe you were a completely horrible person. You tried to hide it, but you were afraid of me. I always saw it, you know? That's how I knew you regretted what happened to me. If you were as bad as you believe, you would have disposed of me a long time ago for being a failure. You care."

Olga Marie trembled uncontrollably as she listened to Mash's words. Everything in her being latched onto the girl's kind words. To her, such kindness was unfathomable. Why would anyone show kindness to Olga Marie?

"So please, don't think that way Marie. I want you to live. Chaldea needs you. You've worked so hard, all for the continued survival of humanity. I believe in you." Olga Marie began to cry anew at that. No one had ever acknowledged her efforts. No one had ever praised her. No one had ever spoken such soft words to her. Why now? Why her?

Then she froze as she felt a Mash embrace her, placing her head in her chest, like a mother would do to a child.

"I believe in you. And if you need help, that's what I'm here for. I'm part of the staff after all. And…I'd like to think we're at least somewhat… friends, Director," Mash said with a brilliant smile, and the Director began to sob anew.

For the next hour, they stayed like that until Marie fell into a fitful sleep, both of them not noticing the warm, packaged food on the makeshift table behind them and the blessed, respectful silence outside.

* * *

"Now look here! What you saw and heard back there was a one-time thing understand?" Marie barked from Shirou's back, her face flushed by embarrassment. "I promise you that such unbecoming behavior is not the norm!"

"Hai, hai," Shirou responded dutifully with a sigh, adjusting his weight a bit. Mentally, he made a note to keep a close eye on the unstable woman in the coming weeks. He knew such deep pains weren't going to disappear in the span of one conversation. Still, he was glad that Mash had been able to help Marie, even if only a little. "Are you comfortable back there?"

"As comfortable as I can expect your hard back to be…" Marie grumbled.

After the whole episode and dinner, which Shirou gracefully didn't ever mention, he had fashioned a simple back-pack-like harness which Marie now sat on with her back to his. The new center of balance was definitely taking a bit to get used to, but luckily, Shirou's ability to reinforce not only objects, but also himself, helped tremendously.

"I'm sure Marie is very grateful Senpai," Mash said from the back as she continually scanned the area for threats. Shirou hummed in understanding, heading off the Director's protests before she could voice them. Luckily, being Rin's lover for so many years had taught him how to deal with less-than-honest women.

They had been attacked one or two times on their way to the temple grounds, but Mash had made short work of them. Other than the random undead and strange shadow beasts though, they had yet to meet any other living human beings or the source of the Singularity Marie had briefed them on.

"You navigate these streets like you lived here all of your life Emiya," Olga Marie observed suddenly, smirking as she felt the stiffening of Shirou's muscles, indicating she was right on the mark.

"I was born here," Shioru said simply, sighing at the fact that like a certain tsundere he loved, Marie was quite sharp, "I grew up here too and went to school further down the street…One of my closest friends used to live at the temple we're going to actually."

"Oh…I'm sorry. I'm sure to see it like this isn't pleasant."

"It doesn't matter. In many ways, this isn't real," Shirou said simply, gesturing to all of the death and destruction around them, "If what you say is true, then this is nothing more than an anomaly in time that we can fix. Once we do that, everything and everyone here will be saved."

It was a ruthless outlook on things, but Shirou was able to separate it just barely. While the people suffering were real, knowing that it could be reversed helped soothe a lot of his horror and fury.

"You can be frighteningly pragmatic Senpai," Mash commented, a little wary, "I honestly hadn't expected such a magus-like attitude from you."

"I'm not normally like this either," Shirou replied with a sigh, "If this was all real…if these people really had suffered like this…I would have been furious. There's a small comfort in knowing that this is not really what happened in the past…even if that doesn't change how terrible this all is."

Then the dilapidated ruins of the Ryuudouji Temple peeked over the horizon, and Shirou grimaced as memories of Caster, Assassin and Gilgamesh came flooding back to him as the bottom of the stairs, upwards into the main grounds, came into view. Just imagining the gloating, golden King of Heroes made him want to stab something.

However, an upside to this particular location was that the fire had already eaten through everything, meaning it was more dirt than dangerous. Not a single piece of wood, stone or patch of dirt was not caked in soot and burnt into a crisp. Shirou wasn't surprised by its condition, given that the original resting place of the Greater Grail had been underneath the temple. He paused.

He wasn't quite sure how he knew that though...

"Here is the spot," Marie suddenly announced as they passed through what should have been the main temple courtyard, "The strongest concentration of mana is radiating from this point. Lay down the shield, Mash."

"Understood," the demi-servant said, placing the Noble Phantasm on the ground.

"You are to follow my instructions to the letter. Understood Shirou?" Marie suddenly demanded, "If you have to perfect walking backwards, do so immediately." Shirou half sighed and half chuckled, nodding his head in understanding. Satisfied, Marie began to channel prana and kickstart the ritual.

There had been a few bumps along the way and the occasional raid by patrolling hordes of skeletons, but after twenty minutes, the circle crackled to life. Then, all of a sudden, the trio found themselves back in the summoning terminal at Chaldea.

"CQ. CQ. Hello? Did it work? I think we're getting through!" a new voice suddenly said as a holographic representation of a man with very fluffy hair flickered to life.

"Romani! What's going on? Why are you on the console!" Olga Marie suddenly snapped, irritated.

"Oh my god! Director! You're alive!" he said, shock in his tone, but then he noticed her missing features, "Oh my god…Director! Are you alright? What happened!?" It wasn't every day that Romani saw his boss strapped in on the back of someone after all…sans legs…

"Senpai managed to save her right before the explosion," Mash chimed in.

"I see," Romani said with a sad nod, "Well, then, Shrou Emiya was it? I'm grateful for your swift actions."

"Fou! Fou fou!" a sudden barking noise followed, jumping over Romani's visage and causing him to fall backwards as a concerned phantasmal beast appeared on screen. It's ears, that were previously drooped, perked up immediately.

"Fou! You're okay!" Mash exclaimed, extremely relieved. She had wondered what had happened to the squirrely creature after he had walked off right before the orientation.

"He's been barking like crazy all afternoon…Kept pawing at the Command Room doors until they were forced open," Romani complained as he got up from the ground, rubbing his sore bottom a bit, "Still, thank goodness you're safe, Mash." Then he finally managed to get a good look at Mash, his eyes bugging out a bit.

"Mash? Mash!? What are you wearing! I don't remember raising you to dress that way," he exclaimed, averting his eyes, getting a peek at her current status on the screen, "Wait your physical readings are all…"

"The Servant awoke. I survived through becoming a Demi-Servant Dr. Romani," she said, "I also forced a contract with Shirou-senpai when we Rayshifted."

"Never mind all that you lay-about. Why are you in charge? You're the head medic!" Olga Marie interjected.

"Yeah. You're telling me. I'm fully aware that I shouldn't be at the helm right now. Unfortunately, bar you, Director, there's no other high-ranking official to take the role," Romani said with a frown, "Chaldea is crippled. The staff has been reduced to less than 20 people…

"So, Lev really is…"

"Dr. Lev was at ground zero in the Command Room. We didn't find any trace of him when we managed to contain the fire."

"Wait…More importantly, the staff has been reduced to less than twenty people!?" Marie yelled, alarm and panic on her face, "How about the rest of the Masters? What are their conditions!"

"We've placed them in cryo as per protocol," Romani said grimly, "But even then…it's not looking good. To be frank, I was surprised you placed it as a back-up, emergency order. As I'm sure you're well aware, putting someone into cryo without prior consent is a criminal offense…"

"I'm not going to just let them die," she argued, "Completely unacceptable. And I really don't take pleasure in what you're insinuating Doctor. Contrary to popular belief, I do have some humanity in me." Romani blinked, shock on his face.

"Shesh. What happened in there?" Romani muttered, "Who'd of thought I'd live to see the day Olga Marie Animusphere show some compassion."

"Would you just shut up and give me a full status report!" Marie yelled, a light dusting of pink on her cheeks, "Tell me everything. Status of supplies. Current progress. Estimated time of completion. Anything relevant." So, for the next fifteen minutes, Romani and Olga Marie debriefed each other on their respective situations., and the reality of the damage caused by the sabotage only seemed to mount with each update.

"In summary, we've lost a little over 80% functionality. Staffing is highly deficient and our contact with the outside world has been cut off," Romani relayed, his face set in a deeper frown, "All available staff is focused on Rayshift repairs and assessment of facility functions. Currently, the only operable Master is Shirou Emiya."

"Wonderful," Olga Marie drawled, feeling more and more frustrated, "Keep us updated whenever you can Dr. Romani. We, Shirou, Mash and I, will investigate the current singularity here in Fuyuki and attempt to discover if not shut down, the source of it."

"Understood. Best of luck to you all," he said before the hologram dissipated, and suddenly, they were back in the ruined temple upon the hill.

"It seems we have our work cut out for us," Shirou said simply, stretching his legs. Having to stand still for almost forty-five minutes really wasn't doing him any favors. "What is the plan, Director?"

"Currently the minimal scans we could do on the area point towards the bridge. There were strange energy readings coming from it," Marie said, pointing to the large steel bridge hanging over the river.

"What is causing the disturbance in the timeline though Marie?" Mash asked, "It could take a long time to search the entire city if we don't have a probable cause. There's not much to go on either as the records back at Chaldea indicate that this town was a peaceful place with little conflict. Why would a singularity appear here? And what sort of power would it take to create it?"

"The Holy Grail. A Grail War occurred here," Shirou stated simply, earning a twitch from the woman sitting on his back. That information was considered very confidential and only those in the upper levels of Chaldea were privy to it.

"And how, exactly, do you know that?" Marie asked with an unseen glare, wishing so very badly right now she could grab onto Shirou's shirt and shake him for answers, again, "While Chaldea speculated that one of the only things powerful enough to affect the timeline was the Holy Grail, there was little data we could use to confirm it. The very nature of the singularity obscured much of our ability to uncover information."

"Tell me one thing first Olga Marie," he said seriously, "Who won the 5th Grail War?" Marie grumbled unhappily, muttering things under her breath about frustrating red-heads that knew more than they should.

"According to Laplace, Saber did and an unknown master," she said reluctantly, "However, for some strange reason, neither of them made a wish on the Grail. Chaldea actually modeled the summoning system based off of our data from this singularity. Of course all of this is already something that is out of place because, according to the actual timeline, my father won the 2004 Grail War and used it to establish Chaldea..."

Shirou's mind raced at the implications. Saber had won the war, not Rin. Yet, in his mind, he knew the line of events that had lead to such an outcome. He could remember it vividly, summoning the regal King of Knights, taking a direct hit from Berserker, fighting Assassin and Caster together, falling in love with her…

The outcome was ever so slightly different from what he experienced personally, yet they came through crystal clear when he thought of them now. Endlessly waiting and endlessly pursuing …

"Emiya! Emiya! Are you there you empty-headed dolt!?" Marie yelled, resorting to bonking the back of Shirou's head with her own, "Ow! What the hell is your head made of!"

"Sorry, Director," Shirou replied sheepishly, "Anyways…as to how I know these things. I told you once that I was born here. However, that year, 2004, is perhaps the most important year of my life. That's when I learned everything, and that's when I became sure of my purpose in life and my place in the world."

He understood now that, much like the Kaleidoscope, Chaldea had access to parallel worlds, in some sense. To change time meant to alter the pathway of the world, and this only proved his suspicions. However, it was a mind-bending thing to think about. This place in time was an anomaly after all. It didn't even belong to the timeline of Chaldea. So that meant things that he remembered would likely be different. The complete city-wide destruction was proof enough of that.

"Speak clearly and get to the point, Shirou," Marie grouched, still nursing her head-wound. Shirou chuckled, nodding in surrender. He could tell them his full story another time, but for now, he needed to confirm whether or not any of his knowledge was useful here, and he suspected that their trip to the bridge would do it.

"If what I believe is happening here lines up with what I really do know," Shirou replied cautiously, "I'll gladly tell you everything. For now, I'll just tell you this. Prepare. We're going into battle with an unknown Servant."

* * *

 **A/N**

I'm delighted by the amount of positive reviews and favorites I've received. A big thank you everyone who has read, faved and enjoyed. I hope everyone will continue enjoying my work in the future.

Thank you for reading and reviewing!

-Woona the Cat


	3. Ch2: A Sea of Statues

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Nasuverse.

Chapter 2: A Sea of Statues

* * *

The air seemed to choke and cough with tangible menace as Shirou's group neared their first objective, the bridge that defined much of Fuyuki's sky line. None of them had any idea what they might face, and even Shirou, who tried to mentally compile all relevant information pertaining to the bridge came up short. He could guess, but that wasn't nearly enough to prepare them for the deadly fight he knew was coming. Uncertainty was the greatest asset a Servant had against them, and for the magus who had rapidly learned that planning was a great part of victory, the added fog and lack of visibility wasn't doing anything to soothe his nerves.

Still, everything had been going relatively smoothly. The monsters had increased in number and strength, but Mash had rapidly acclimated to the battlefield at a rate that was nothing less than astonishing. She had learned how to use her Noble Phantasm's more esoteric abilities already, and the effects were abundantly clear, especially when Shirou had personally watched an arrow bounce right off of her skin like a drop of water against glass.

Marie was…adjusting. She was still as snappy as ever, but there was a bit more tolerance and appreciation hidden behind her acrid tone. She was still tenaciously stubborn though. It had taken Mash voicing her extreme displeasure, a rarity for the normally temperate girl, at Marie holding back her pain and discomfort for her to finally admit her entire body was a giant bruise. They had immediately paused to allow her to weave a healing spell on herself with Mash watching her every move in a fashion much like a mother hen.

Shirou had felt bad, having not noticed that his rapid movements and sharp responses were the cause. For the battle-virgin Director, the force of his movements had caused her harm, and he immediately switched to firing long-range swords at enemies and limiting his movement. Marie didn't say anything other than voicing her disbelief at another revealed ability, but he could tell she was grateful for the reprieve and the chance to help with her own projectiles. Though, her incredulous look she gave him at his ability to fire so much artillery so effortlessly reminded him distinctly of a miffed Rin…

"How are you holding up, Director?" Shirou asked as they came to a stop, having cleared out the newest batch of enemies. He was pleased with how combat effective they were becoming, but he still worried. Given the choice, Shirou would have preferred to enter battle by himself but knew such a selfish thought was just his inner distortion talking.

"For the last time, Shirou," Marie growled, half-irritated, half-happy, albeit begrudgingly, "I'm perfectly able to keep up with..."

"The Director is as stubborn as ever, isn't she?" Dr. Romani's hologram suddenly interjected, his face set in a smirk which Marie promptly responded to with a Gandr shot, frowning in dissatisfaction as it harmlessly fizzled through. "Temper's still intact though, but it's refreshing actually."

"I swear when I get back…" Marie muttered darkly, expletives floating through the air and across Shirou's ears like a cold knife.

"How close are we now, Dr. Romani?" Shirou asked, unfazed by the mutterings. Instead, he looked at the bridge, thinking about the Servant that would best utilize it. At first, he thought of Archer, but reasoned that if that asshole was there, he would have shot them already as they were well within even Shirou's own range.

"The foot of the bridge is less than 100 yards ahead," Romani stated, nodding toward the fog, "Now that we're closer, our scans have revealed a strange blanket of energy covering the entire bridge. It's not exactly a bounded field, but it also, sort of is…It's really quite unusual. We haven't quite seen something like this, so it's safe to say it belongs to a Servant."

Shirou's eyes widened in recognition, and turning towards the bridge, he took a deep breath, focusing closely as he tried to filter out the smoke and dirt in the air, looking for one particular scent. He could smell, blood, metal, burning wood and soot-filled water ahead, and hidden among it all, the dawning scent of honey.

"Rider…" Shirou whispered. His mind flashed with more foreign memories of the tall Gorgon. In many paths, they had been nothing more than enemies, yet in many, they were close allies, friends and even lovers. He had to slightly pause at that to process the fact that the true scope of the powers of the Second Magic even extended into his love life…

"Any ideas Senpai?" Mash asked. Shirou shook himself out of his implanted memories, doing his best to calm himself before facing his worried Demi-Servant. He wasn't sure what to tell her. He knew that anything he suspected could be catastrophically wrong, as that was the nature of parallel worlds. What could he do to make sure they had the best chance against Medusa? What potential piece of information would serve them the best?

His face suddenly turned grim as he turned toward Mash.

"Whatever you do, don't look her in the eyes."

* * *

The sense of unease that had settled over the group seemed to truly solidify as they passed the threshold of the bridge. As predicted, the effects of the bounded field made themselves known. Lethargy and feebleness dogged their every step as they were all forced to expend their own energy to counter its insidious effects. A sense of unease creeped up their spines, like the eyes of an unknown predator stalking in the dark.

Even Shirou, with all of his implanted memories and personal experience, hadn't felt such a potent Bloodfort Andromeda before, and it spelled an omen of danger for what nested ahead. Something must have happened to Rider to make the Bloodfort so much more powerful.

"So…her eyes," Marie said, her head constantly swiveling around as the location seemed to change in hue from gray to blood red, "A 'her'…who is this Servant, Shirou?"

"The bounded field we're in is called Bloodfort Andromeda," Shirou answered, now confident he wasn't misleading his comrades, "It's a powerful ability from the Age of the Gods and is operated by Medusa…"

Mash and Marie froze. A Servant's ability was generally proportional to their fame in history. For a divine being such as Medusa, whose story was almost universally known, her power was likely to be extremely high. Additionally, for the two who had never actually faced a Servant in battle, to fight such a famous mythological figure was nothing less than absolutely terrifying.

"Do…do we even have a chance?" Olga Marie whispered, his face going as white as her hair as she realized now why Shirou warned them about Medusa's Mystic Eyes. Shakes began to snake through her body as she realized now that death was truly staring her in the face.

"As a rule, only a Servant can defeat another Servant," Shirou stated with a wry grin, "But rules are also able to be broken. Our chances are not high, but it's not impossible."

"Thanks for the motivational speech," Marie huffed darkly.

"I say it in all seriousness," he responded gravely, "To enter battle with a Servant is not only incredibly stupid but also likely a death wish. No regular human could hope to match one. We're very lucky to have Mash here."

"Me, Senpai?" Mash questioned, surprised.

"The fact that you hold a Servant's abilities raise our odds of winning tremendously," Shirou confirmed with a confident grin of his own. While he was no slouch in combat, a Servant that decided to fight seriously was not within his range of abilities, without a few cheats anyway.

"I'm not sure I can vouch for my Servant abilities, Senpai," Mash replied with a frown, glancing at the shield of Galahad, "I haven't even managed to activate Galahad's Noble Phantasm yet…"

"Don't worry. I believe in you. I know I can count on you in battle. You too Marie," the red-headed magus assured, "We will win."

Then as if on cue, a soft laugh floated through the air as the sounds of clinking chains rattled through the red mist, setting all three on edge. It was a haunting sound, like a hiss of a snake combined with the high-pitched sounds of metal screeching against stone, a final warning to all trespassers.

"I always did love the hero-types," a sultry voice murmured, "Always so eager to impress, to the point of idiocy. To so willingly walk into my den and provide me with three more wonderful pieces…"

Then, the red-tinted veil of mist drew back, revealing a seemingly endless sea of statues, all perfectly preserved memorials of the last moments of a human's life. Marie audibly gagged as she realized the magnitude of sheer death that lay before her, each one, a different face of fear, a different posture of pain and a different life cruelly snuffed out.

"Oh my god…" Mash breathed out, her shield dropping to her side as shock froze her in place.

"You...monster!" Marie strangled out out, causing Shirou to stumble as her whole body jerked in horror. Her mind reeled at the sheer magnitude of it all. Hundreds if not thousands of lives… How? How could anyone do such a terrible thing? Such senseless death and violence…

"Hmm, I suppose I am a monster," Medusa answered, a certain smugness within it that made Olga Marie want to hurl, "But who made me this way? Was it the Goddess who cursed me out of jealousy? Was it the Hero who slayed me at the behest of empowered children? Or was it history who villainized me? Like me, they were all simply in the way."

"Those were all people!" Olga screamed, unable to understand. Had she thought of people like that before? Things to be discarded and thrown away…

"I was a person once too girl," Medusa hissed angrily, "Does that stop the sword that cleaves or the arrow that flies? In the true world, fairytales don't exist. There are those that are killed and those that are killers."

Marie balled her fists in anger and despair, not solely on the fact that such a horrific crime had been committed. She was deeply conflicted as her own past beliefs spat in her face. She had believed once that strength, pedigree, knowledge, stature, wealth and any other manner of qualifier allowed one to reign. After all, what significance did the pebble pose in the path of the avalanche? The Grand Order had always been her sole goal, but had she thrown away her humanity for the sake of saving humanity in the process?

"Director, you need to get a hold of yourself," Shirou said, his face grim, "If you lose your composure, you'll die."

"How can you not be angry!" Marie yelled, shaking.

"I am. The very sight of so many deaths goes against everything in my very being. I'm tormented by all the lives that could have been saved here…" he said simply, his eyes glinting like steel as he caught the brief flash of purple in the sea of unmoving statues, "But I've learned that in battle, a moment of distraction means death."

Quicker than a flash, a sword materialized at his side and launched at the Servant, smashing through a dozen statues before revealing the body profile of their enemy, resulting in a sea of blood gushing from the dismembered, petrified people. Marie closed her eyes at the horrible image, the smell of rotting blood filling her nostrils.

Mash immediately snapped out her daze as her instinct awoke to tell her the battle had begun, and she quickly placed her Noble Phantasm between them and their foe. It was well-timed too because, she could feel an immense strain against her shield, signaling that Medusa had just used her Mystic Eyes of Petrification to no effect. The drain on her mana reserves was high, but Shirou's constant stream of energy easily filled the void.

"Hmph," Medusa said, the sounds of her heels clinking against the fragmented rocks, "Not one for foreplay then are you, Hero?" Shirou finally got a good look at their enemy as she stepped around the broken statues. Without a doubt, it was Medusa. She possessed the same body profile, height and air of cold confidence. Her hair was the same. Her eyes were the same otherworldly topaz.

Yet, this was a different Medusa, evidenced by her attire and aura of madness that shrouded her. Malice leaked from her every movement, and Shirou watched her hands as she twirled her weapon. She held a spear, and it was familiar. Harpe, the hook sword that Perseus had been granted to fight the Gorgon, now lay in her hands, twisted and transformed into a spear to do Medusa's bidding. However, what had Shirou worried the most were the chains that lay scattered throughout the battlefield. Despite the fact that they were clearly weapons, they weren't registering in his inner world…

"Shall we then?" Medusa taunted, suddenly rushing forward, her spear poised to run through Shirou but was abruptly headed off, a loud clang echoing against his ears.

"Senpai!" Mash exclaimed, grunting as the sheer strength of Medusa's blow reverberated through her body. It was a strike unlike anything Mash had ever experienced, and it left her arms numb. So, this was the true strength of a Servant…The unsettling gaze of the enemy Servant was also nothing like the soulless skeletons and shadows they had already faced. The Servant of the Shield did her best not to wilt in the face of such a fearsome enemy.

"My my, my prey tonight is truly remarkable," Medusa taunted peaking over the shield with her height, "A strange Servant, a strange Master and a human, or half of one anyway." Suddenly though, her eyes went wide in surprise as she got a good look at Shirou's face, her whole body going rigid.

"You…you…" she said, her body trembling as he eyes turned into pinpricks, "Your face…you would dare? What sort of mockery is this?" Fury filled her body as she struck at Mash with abandon, her strike tossing aside the Servant of the Shield like a leaf in the wind with her superior strength. Shirou had to toss himself haphazardly to the side as a swipe, nearly invisible to the eye, aimed to behead him and Marie, missing just barely.

"Mash!" Shirou yelled as he jumped away, ejecting Marie from her position by crouching and removing the backpack. He didn't know what had triggered Medusa's anger, but there was no way he could effectively fight with Marie attached to him.

"Senpai as your Servant I can't…"

"You! You! You!" Medusa roared, her anger mounting by the moment as her hair began to fizzle and writhe. Moments later they turned into chains that launched themselves exclusively at Shirou, ignoring the easy target of Marie and Mash.

"What the hell did you do!" Marie yelled from behind Mash's shield, recognizing that Medusa had gone into a battle frenzy for some reason. It was almost akin to a Berserker's loss of reason. It truly drove home the point of the difference between a human and a Servant for the Director. Each blow that Shirou somehow managed to block created shockwaves that rippled through the air, and every swing of Medusa's lance caused a whizzing sound that rang in their ears.

"I don't know!" Shirou answered as he continued to rapidly block Medusa's blows with quickly traced Kanshou and Bakuya. He was Reinforcing himself to his limits just to keep up with the agile Servant of the Lance, and her inhuman strength and speed, paired with her divinity wasn't making it any easier.

"You're dead!" Medusa screamed, her eyes bloodshot as she caught Shirou off-guard with a kick to the stomach, sending him flying into a dozen statues. He barely had time to roll out of the way as Medusa planted her spear into the ground where he used to be. It was painful, but he could feel Avalon working continuously on him, its strength somehow amplified.

"Shirou, dodge right!" Marie suddenly yelled as a volley of Gandr shots were launched at Medusa's back, exploding in a shower of sparks. In response, a wave of snake-like chains lashed out at Mash and Marie as a furious snarl signaling the Lancer's displeasure.

"Mash, Marie! Move!" Shirou roared, knowing that the living nature of the chains was something that Mash couldn't defend against easily. He jumped towards them only to be knocked back by the unharmed Medusa whose rage hadn't abated in the slightest.

As predicted the living chains snaked their way around Mash's guard, grabbing her by the ankles and arms. Marie too suffered the same fate as the chains wrapped tightly around her torso and neck. Then, they tightened, threatening to crush bones and tear flesh. Shirou's blood went cold as Marie and Mash's screams rent the air.

"Let them go!" Shirou roared as he tried to jump away from Medusa, only for her to block his every move. He was starting to get desperate, if he didn't get to Mash and Marie soon…

"You're dead! I watched it!" Medusa roared, completely blinded by rage, continuing to attack Shirou, "Your lifeless body! They killed you right in front of me! Taunted me with your mutilated face…cursed me to a life of suffering…twisted me into…into this! And now you come back to haunt me with your face! Never again!"

"Let them go, Medusa!" the red-haired magus yelled again as he suddenly accelerated to a speed he had never gotten to, a whisper of a voice fluttering in his mind. Everything seemed to suddenly slow down, allowing him to step around the irate Lancer. It had seemed almost if time had slowed…

However, as soon as it came, it ended, and Medusa was upon him again, causing him to leap back in frustration. Sweat began to pour down his face in droves as his mind processed the terrible possibility that he would fail once again. Just watching Mash and Marie's faces contort in agony was enough to already fray his less-than-stable mentality.

The faces of friends and family lost ghosted in his mind as he desperately charged at Medusa in an attempt to get past her. He couldn't lose anyone else. He wouldn't allow it! Shirou could not fail here!

"I am…"

Then, a miracle, a flash of fire blasted the stems of the chains, melting them away, and the chains holding onto Mash and Marie seemed to shrivel up and die, releasing them abruptly from the grip of the snake.

"I don't know what the hell you did boy, but I've never seen Lancer so upset," a male voice, one that Shirou also knew incredibly well said, "Luckily, I'm not one to idly sit by while pretty girls are getting hurt." Deastralizing, from above, Shirou breathed a sigh of relief as the familiar, smug smile of Cu Chulainn signaled the hopeful appearance of an ally. He didn't really have much time to contemplate the new outfit and staff though as he blocked another slash from Medusa, causing him to crash into more statues, kicking up dust and blood.

"Caster," Medusa growled, extremely displeased, "Don't. Interfere."

"Can't do that old friend," Cu Chulainn said with a wide smile, "I'm going to have to side with these lost sheep here. You're also an enemy, so this works out well for me. Plus, I'm really curious as to why you've gone up and lost your mind. Especially over this kid…"

Shirou took a deep breath, coughing out the dust in his lungs at the moment of reprieve. Wiping the blood from his mouth he stood up in the full view, looking worriedly at Mash and Marie who both nodded weakly back to him that they were injured but not yet dead. A second sigh of relief and determination issued from him as he faced his enemy again.

"Wait a minute…that red hair," Cu Chulainn continued, his face contorting into disbelief, "That red hair belongs to..."

"Shirou," the agonizing female lancer said, a hint of sanity returning to her as tears began to leak from her face. Her spear dropped to her side for just a single moment as despair overtook her soul. "Why…why does his face haunt me…I tried! I tried to save him! I really did! He promised me…he promised me…He PROMISED ME!" She screamed again, losing what leftover sanity she had regained, jumping at Shirou with the intent to kill once again, only to be pushed back by a wall of angry flames. "CASTER!"

"I don't know what the fuck you did to piss off your Servant so badly kid…but holy shit…this is all really strange..." Cu Chulainn said with some amount of disbelief as he bought some time for them to re-situate themselves while Medusa continued to rage at them from across the wall of flames, her eyes beginning to glow.

"What?"

"I mean, I get that lovers have their spats every now and then but this is just something else…" he continued, completely oblivious to the mounting confusion from the only other male in the vicinity.

"GIVE HIM BACK!" Medusa screeched as she extinguished the wall of flames with her eyes, her weapon slash blocked by Cu's strange staff. Her madness seemed to fully return as she swung wildly at the defending Caster who matched her blow for blow.

"I'll hold her back for a bit," Cu said, his face turning serious, "Figure something out! But don't blame me if I kill her!" With a shove, he tossed back Medusa with his own martial prowess, an excited grin on his face. Medusa stared back at him with an equally murderous intent, her snake-like hair wiggling in fury, her eyes still continuously tracing Shirou's form.

"Wait!" Shirou said, causing the Irish hero to turn for a moment. Unceremoniously, Shirou suddenly traced a famous blood-red spear, a weapon that had once ended his life. The Irish Hero's face morphed into pure shock as he immediately recognized the runed spear of death given to him by his own teacher. It was impossible, yet it was here. "Don't use the active effect. I'll figure something out." With that, he tossed the weapon to the surprised Caster who caught it with a practiced ease.

"Heh. I'm not even going to ask kid, but I like your style," he responded as he implanted his staff into the ground and took up the familiar weapon from his own legend, twirling it expertly in his hands. A large grin spread across his face in delight. "Now then, Lancer. Shall we see who the true Lancer is?"

* * *

 **A/N**

It's been a while everyone. Been managing a new job on top of school and everything so time's rough. Hopefully, I got everything settled down now.

On another note, an early Happy Halloween to everyone! I hope those playing FGO had better luck than me in rolling Tamamo!

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

-Woona the Cat


	4. Ch3: The Goddess

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to Fate/Stay night or any associated works.

* * *

Chapter 3: The Goddess

Cu was excited. Ever since he had been summoned, everything about this Holy Grail War had gone wrong. First off, he had been summoned as a Caster, something he attributed to his dreadful luck, and then everyone died…

While that was tragic in itself, what had really made him upset was the fact that good fights with strong opponents had been ripped away from him by some unseen evil lurking in the shadows. Whoever or whatever was behind the force was cowardly, making use of insidious curses and necromancy to destroy the city and corrupt the remaining Servants. It really rubbed his honorable sensibilities the wrong way.

Now though, with his favored spear in hand, the thrumming power of Gae Bolg's curse reawakened a nostalgic feeling. His battle lust was beginning to surface. His opponent was formidable, especially since she seemed to be stronger since her corruption, but he could hardly care since he was having a good time.

"You're losing your touch, Lancer," Caster taunted as he easily blocked another wild slash by the enraged woman, smirking as a growl escaped from Medusa's throat. Pushing her back, he cast a burst of flame at the woman, remembering the lessons with his teacher well. This was how he was trained to fight, with spear and magic in hand.

Looking over his shoulder for a moment, he confirmed that his impromptu companions were recovering, wondering what the kid had in mind for this battle. While Cu knew that his skill and experience far outclassed Medusa's, there was a vast difference in parameters due to her corrupted strength, combined with his lack of a Master.

During the battle, he had landed multiple blows against the gorgon, his cursed spear easily slicing through flesh and drawing blood. Yet, despite the potent curse of Gae Bolg, Cu Chulainn watched as Medusa's wounds healed right before his eyes, and he had a sinking feeling as to why.

Bloodfort Andromeda, the pseudo-bounded field in which they fought was the absolute domain of Medusa. She didn't need extraordinary luck or the intervention of a god to heal from Gae Bolg's strikes, and instead, used the abundant human souls she had ensnared as her catalyst to force the wounds to heal. From the beginning, this battle had been nothing more than a war of attrition, one that he was going to lose without a plan.

"Kid better hurry up," he muttered, jumping away and slicing another wave of hair chains. Even with all of his bravado, his class was hindering him greatly here. His strength and agility were diminished, and Lancer's were increasing with every soul she ripped out of the human statues in her web. It was becoming increasingly harder to deflect her blows as the monstrous power behind them ramped up with her fury. Everything just seemed to be against him in this fight. He grimaced.

"Damned luck…"

* * *

Shiro worked quickly as he structurally analyzed Mash and Marie's bodies for signs of further injuries, relieved to only find deep bruises instead of crushed bones. Marie was already casting her healing spell at full power, but her face was deeply disturbed as she glared at Shirou.

"That Servant…Medusa…" she croaked as her bruised neck began to slowly heal, "She knew you. Lancer was your Servant. Caster recognized you." There was no question there, and Shiro wasn't quite sure how he was going to explain his current circumstances in a way that would pacify Marie until the fight was over.

While he was not aware of the events that had led up to him summoning Medusa in this world, he could piece together the general picture. It confirmed what he had feared when he had first entered this singularity. His information, while potentially useful, was essentially useless.

Though, he should honestly be more worried about the irate magus in front of him.

"Emiiiiiyyyyyaaaa!" Marie growled, shooting a bolt of low-powered ice at his head from her position on the ground. She swore if the dolt continued to just silently stare off into space, she was going to use fire next.

"Sorry Director, I got lost in my thoughts," he apologized, glancing back quickly at Caster to confirm his state, "I'm going to have to apologize again though… Mash, I need you to bring the Director across the bridge and keep her safe while I deal with Lancer." Mash and Marie stared at him like he was insane.

"I can't accept that, Master!" Mash protested, trying to surge up to her feet, only to stumble as her limbs were still healing from Medusa's attack, "As your Servant I must…"

"Listen to me, Mash," Shirou replied sternly, an old weariness in his eyes, "You're injured. The Director is injured. You're both in no state to fight. I wouldn't want you to fight in the first place either…while I know one day that you will be an amazing Servant, now is not the time. You are too inexperienced, too young, too naïve. You don't really understand that this is not a simulation. This is a fight to the absolute death. One wrong move and you are gone. There's no redo, and there won't be a second chance. I won't allow that to happen to you." An understanding frown appeared on Shirou's face. He knew what it was like to want to be strong, to fight for your friends, to save people…

"But you will fight…" Mash replied weakly, her heart hurting at the bitter truth that Shirou so bluntly laid out. She knew she was not such a great Servant, but she had wanted to prove, not just to everyone else but also herself, that she could do it.

"Someone must bear it. Why not me?" he said with a sad smile, "You are not weak, Mash. Like I said, I know that one day, you're going to be a magnificent Servant. Let me handle this. I'll survive. I promise, and then I'll personally help you become stronger." She stared long and hard at her master, trying to understand why he would undertake such a risk. He was just a human, albeit unusually powerful, but that would never compare to the abilities of a Servant.

"Trust me. After this is all over, I'll explain everything I can," he promised, turning his attention to the battle that raged on in the middle of the bridge. Cu Chulainn was struggling now, being forced back as the monstrous strength of Medusa continued to batter at his defenses in a war of attrition that he simply could not outlast.

Trigger set, off.

"Trace On," he chanted confidently, a large, sleek black bow appearing in his hands, the weapon of an Archer. Every distraction, the cackling of dying embers, the sounds of metal clashing violently, the eerie washing of the soot-ridden river, floated away as the eight steps naturally flowed in his mind.

His arrow was nothing more than a nameless sword, good in quality and simple in make, but Marie and Mash watched in barely concealed curiosity and awe as they watched it twist into an impossibly thin shape as Shirou nocked it on the bow. With one last glace at the two he spoke.

"Go."

Then the arrow took off at incredible speeds, the mist around it visibly parting as it careened toward its target. The whizzing noise in the air pieced the mostly quiet night as it connected with its target, the tip of Harpe.

With a loud clang, the weapon spun away from Medusa, suddenly ripped from her hands by the sheer force of the blow. Cu took the opportunity and struck at Medusa, catching her cleaning in the arm, forcing her to jump back as an inhuman screech of anger rent the air.

"About time kid," Cu Chulainn said with a slightly labored breath, leaning lightly on his spear as Shirou pulled up next to him with his reinforced legs, the twin swords of Kanshou and Bakuya poised to strike. He kept his eyes on the retreating forms of his newfound friends, satisfied that they would be untouched.

Shiro then leveled his gaze directly at Medusa whose eyes had zeroed in on the newest body in the battlefield. Her rage seemed to double as the defiance in those eyes stared directly at her without fear. There was definite recognition in her eyes, as well as pain, anger and longing…

"Any ideas? Not too late to simply say sorry and promise her a date right?" Caster asked as he placed himself in ready position again, watching intently as one of his opponent's hair snakes snatched Harpe from the ground and deposited it into Medusa's waiting hands.

"Doubt it…I got nothing concrete. At best, we need to weaken her before I try it," Shirou replied simply as he watched his enemy closely. It would be a difficult fight, mainly because his goal here was not to kill her. He was a sword, a weapon made for harm. He knew that it would be easier if he went all out, but Shirou felt as if she deserved more than that. His sense of responsibility, as her apparent master, demanded nothing less.

"Great…" Cu drawled, brandishing his spear, as he idly glanced at the beautiful twin falchions in Shirou's hands, frowning lightly at the blatant openings.

"I need to get close. A moment is all I need," he stated as he analyzed Harpe deeper for the style Medusa used, able to immediately grasp the techniques and movements she was accustomed to. Grunting, he burst forward, meeting Medusa's steel with his own, parrying her forward thrust with Kanshou and ducking underneath to deliver a quick stab into her midsection, only to meet a sea of angry, pink hair.

"Gets real annoying right?" Caster said as he jumped down and sliced away the hair that had almost entangled Shirou. "Despite the fact that she's clearly out of her mind and her skills are slipping, these endless snakes are a real pain in the ass." Shirou said nothing as he stared directly into Medusa's face, a frown on his face.

"Do you think you can distract her or not?" Shirou asked, his eyes sharpening.

"I'm almost out of energy, kid," Cu replied grimly, firing off a few more missiles of fire at Medusa, "Without a Master, I'm running on empty here. Barely managing to sustain myself off of the ambient mana in the air."

"Right…" Unfortunately, the current atmosphere was less than ideal to perform a binding ritual. Shirou knew that the truth of the matter was that he was basically alone in this fight now. "Change of plans, Caster. Go to my friends. I'll handle this."

Caster's eyebrows raised in disbelief, but his words of protest were cut off at the sudden intensity in Shirou's eyes. They were not the eyes of a foolish boy, but of a warrior, a man. He had a plan, and the confidence to carry it out.

"Maa…Well, I hope for your sake that you come out of this alive. The ladies may get a little lonely you know? Not that I'd mind filling that gap mind you," Cu said with a smirk, earning an eyeroll from Shirou. With a small nod, one warrior to another, Cu ran off, leaving only Shirou to face the Gorgon who had been watching the entire time.

"You. Idiot," she ground out as her hands clenched harder around the spear in her hands, her eyes going bloodshot as she roared at Shirou who calmly stared back. There was only a singular conviction there.

"You may not be able to understand me, Lancer," the red-haired magus said with conviction, "But I'm going to save you. I swear it." She growled and rocketed forward, intent on skewering her once-master from head to toe, only to find an empty patch of concrete.

Suddenly, a blow rocked her off of her feet as Shirou's kick sent her careening through her garden of statues. With a slight cough, she stared at the swathe of destruction, unable to comprehend how a mere human had such power.

Shirou didn't let up though as a rain of sword bullets bombed the area, kicking up dust, rock and blood. It was a dirty technique he had learned from Gilgamesh, but it was effective. It was the best technique to use to fight against the seemingly endless sea of hair snakes.

Medusa suddenly was forced on the defensive as a large broadsword swung out from the dust cloud. She didn't even had time to adapt to the new weapon as a hail of daggers assaulted her, cutting off her hair in large batches.

Then, Shirou was there, bursting out of the cloud of dust with a speed he had never personally achieved. He didn't exactly know what spell he had activated, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth. In his hands, he brandished two strange daggers, gleaming with an otherworldly shine, prismatic and foreboding.

Medusa dodged, throwing her body out of the way, confident in her safety. However, these weapons weren't meant to kill.

They struck, one dagger barely catching the edge of her calf, slicing through her clothes with the depth of a paper cut. Even to a regular human, it wouldn't have bothered them. However, Medusa's vision was suddenly filled with red.

Rule Breaker was an odd weapon. It was a dagger imbued with everything that Medea the Witch of Colchis represented, betrayal. In the hands of its originally owner, it was a formidable weapon, able to even go against the gods. Unfortunately, in Shirou's hands, as skilled as he was, he was not its true owner. To Medea, her Noble Phantasm was as precise as a surgeon's knife. In Shirou's hands, they were more akin to a carving knife. The skill could be developed but would never match.

Sparks of angry red energy suddenly burst forth from Medusa as all her magecraft and contracts were rendered moot. Shirou could see the effects soon begin to manifest as the air wavered with the Bloodfort's connection cut. Dangerous volumes of mana began to swirl between the two as Medusa's pain-filled scream pierced the air.

Shirou suddenly realized his error. In the past, when Rin had tried to remove the seals for the Bloodfort, it never worked, due to the multilayered nature of the bounded field from the Age of the Gods. Medusa's ability to manifest her territory was absolute, and unless he had been able to remove all the anchoring points, the Bloodfort would remain.

However, his little stunt with Rule Breaker hadn't gone without its consequences. Instead of cutting off Medusa from Bloodfort Andromeda, he had destroyed her control over it, resulting in all of the latent mana she had been gathering from countless human souls to suddenly sink into her screaming form.

Shirou had to shield his eyes as the sheer amount of mana began to cause Medusa to be covered in brilliant, ominous red light, forcing him back from the power. His heart clenched as her screams of agony chilled his spine, and then, the energy reached a crescendo, blasting him back into a metal beam, leaving a charred Medusa standing there, like a statue blackened by fire.

The red-haired magus stared, his eyes widening in horror. Then, she fell, the bridge around her crumbling into dust as her unmoving body was tossed into the murky depths below, leaving nothing but far-reaching ripples in a soot-soaked lake.

Shirou felt numbness invade his limbs, as his mind processed what he had just seen. He grit his teeth furiously, as his fingers dug into his palms. Failure… and another he couldn't save. Despite his new knowledge and abilities, he had failed. He punched the ground in anguish, uncaring of the blood that spurt forth from his knuckles. Unable to save even the one in front of him…

Medusa…Rider…

His heart clenched. In another life…they had been so close. He could see it now, his gifted memories torturing him with a scene of a happy family life with Sakura and Rin with Rider off to the side, serenely reading a book as they waited for dinner. Her discreet smile could covey so much…

"Goddammit…" he whispered, blinking back the tears in his eyes, mourning for the loss of a friend.

Filled with regret, Shirou stood to begin his trek towards his companions, knowing that despite his failure, he still had people depending on him. He would save as many as…

Suddenly, a bright beam of crimson mana burst up from the river down below, as the entire sky lit up red once again. An unholy battle cry sliced into his skull as windows and lightbulbs exploded on both sides of the river. A rumble shook the area as a massive hump formed in the water, as large as the entire river in width and longer than the bridge itself.

Four golden wings burst through the surface of the water, displacing all of the water into the sky as a polluted rain began to fall. A monster rose from the murky depths, and Shirou stared, a stupid smile on his face as he looked upon the monster.

His heart swelled.

There was still a chance. She was alive but changed as her lower limbs had been replaced with that of a long snake tail with golden scales and a black underbelly. Her pink hair had been tainted black as six snake heads framed her face, their hissing filling the blackened air. Even her extremities had been affected as her once-human arms had been mutated into claws with the same scales as her tail.

Shirou knew that this was the true form of the Gorgon Medusa, devourer of Heroes and her own divine sisters. This was the Queen of all Magical Beasts, a monster that had diverged from history, undefeated and dangerous.

And yet, despite it all, he couldn't be any happier.

* * *

"She's alive," Shirou repeated simply to himself as his resolve strengthened. Despite her monstrous visage and her clear intent to kill, he was glad. He couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous fact that he had been given another chance.

Shirou was quickly reminded that he was in battle though as mana gathered in the mouths of Medusa's hair snakes, glowing with an ominous, dark purple light. Moments later, six mana beams sliced into the metal bridge, cutting the already battered construction into countless pieces as the hair-snakes wildly attempted to slice the fallen goddess' enemy into pieces.

The red-headed magus barely had enough time to reinforce himself before the feeling of metal and stone battered his body and assaulted his senses. His vision darkened for a moment as his body felt the sudden shock of his back hitting the murky water.

When he finally resurfaced, Shirou finally understood the true magnitude of the majesty that the original Gorgon must have commanded. It reminded him why it took the aid of the Gods themselves to conquer the beast.

He didn't have much time to contemplate his foe though as the Gorgon released a rain of golden feathers, sharp enough to embed themselves into the surrounding stone and metal. Only the projection of the Ro Aias had prevented him from becoming a pincushion.

Shirou surged forward, hopping between fallen pieces of debris as his shield took the damage from Medusa's continuous attack. He could feel the strain beginning to build as more and more feathers embedded themselves into the Conceptual Weapon.

Out of the corner of his eyes though, he suddenly noticed a separate stream of golden glints heading towards Marie and Mash, his enhanced eyesight able to make out the forms of his friends cowering behind Mash's shield. His heart clenched in fear as he saw a few feathers curve around the sides of the barrier, drawing blood from his Servant. He could feel her determination to protect in their bond.

Ro Aias was holding well enough, but the continuous assault was beginning to break the first barrier already. Medusa was also building up another attack as her snakes gathered more mana. If one of those were aimed at Mash…

He didn't have a lot of time left. Shirou had to do everything in his power to win now, for everyone. He couldn't afford to hold back any longer.

Closing his eyes in concentration, he attempted to do something he had only been successful at completing a few handful of times, even in all the different universes. Shirou focused on the feeling, her feeling at his side. He allowed it to fill his soul.

He could still remember the sword, its pristine visage flashing in his dreams as his Servant slept peacefully next to him. It was her favorite sword, even more so than the one she would later be known for. It was the weapon that had changed Artoria's life and was a representation of everything she stood for.

He called for it, and to his immense surprise, it answered, readily.

In his hand, a golden blade materialized, resplendent in its glory and ageless in its visage. He felt its weight deposit into his hands, and its golden light filled his body with warmth, making him smile as he remembered Saber fondly.

Despite his lack of plan and knowledge as to how to purge the taint from Medusa, he felt reassured, for in his hand lay the Sword Which Chooses Victory. It's golden light, he noticed, felt more full than usual, less like a fake.

Staring down the monster before him, Shirou overlaid the pained image of Medusa with the writhing beast, feeling his grip harden. She was relying on him. His shield dropped for just a single moment before he let lose.

"CALIBURN!" Shirou roared as a beam of pure golden energy impacted two of Medusa's golden wings disintegrating them completely in an explosion of holy energy, eliciting an earsplitting screech of pain. Not even bothering to look at the broken copy of Saber's sword in his hand, he rushed forward, darting forward on the fallen debris, adrenaline pumping in his ears.

With a yell he jumped onto the large thrashing tail of Medusa, dispelling his copy of Caliburn as Bakuya and Kanshou dug into the scales of his enemy. He gripped on for dear life as he was thrown about by the pained Gorgon, his vision swimming.

Now that he was here on Medusa though…

"Burn them all completely, Giant of the Trees. Wicker Man!"

Heat and flames suddenly filled the area as a giant, composed of tree branches and encased in flames appeared in the river. Steam began to fill the air as its immense heat evaporated the water around them at a rapid pace. Shirou had to hold back from screaming in pain as the scalding water and boiling steam passed over him.

However, its effects were clearly even worse on the massive form of the Gorgon. The Wicker Man swung fiercely at the monster, burning her hair snakes to a crisp as it grabbed her arms in an attempt to secure a worthy sacrifice to the gods for which it was summoned.

"Emiya Shirou. You. Complete. Utter. Moron!" Marie's voice roared as she appeared on the river bank, being secured by Mash who was holding her from behind while Caster controlled his summon, his face scrunched in effort and deep concentration. Then, she began to chant.

"For the stars that govern the cosmos, the name of Animusphere calls upon the endless Void. Observe. Repeat. Observe. Repeat. If the Gods above should honor the call, the faithful watchers offer this prayer. All that walk, fall prey to the skies, and we, the heralds of the clouds, call upon our ancient pact. I beseech thee. Descend and desecrate!"

Caster rose his eyebrows in surprise. It was rare to find a mage capable of single-handedly chanting such a long ritual on their own nowadays, and its power was apparent as the spell completed. It spoke volumes as to how capable a magus Marie really was.

"Lighting Burst!" she roared as the clouds suddenly opened up, blasting the entire river with dozens of wild bolts of electricity of assorted colors. Red, green, blue, white, yellow and every spectrum of color lit up the night as the ritual descended upon its chosen sacrifice.

Shirou could only hold on and shield himself with his own power as chaos descend on the area, fire and lightning battering both him and his foe. Unearthly screeches filled the air as Medusa was pummeled with repeated gouts of flame and electricity. Her movement slowed as the assault continued, wearing down her vitality bit by bit until it finally all stopped, allowing Shirou, damaged but alive, to finally see the state of his enemy.

Her hair was singed and burnt away viciously, not a single hair snake surviving the encounter, and her beautiful golden wings had fallen off the to the side or were rendered completely useless, leaving her looking much less like the winged goddess she was.

Despite all of the damage she had sustained though, she was still moving, evident by her furious slash at the giant encased in flames, her claws quickly rendering it into nothing more than a pile of kindling as its effective time ran out. Marie had blacked out after casting her spell, falling limply into Mash's arms.

"It's all you now kid!" Caster yelled over the din of Medusa's thrashing, "We aren't running on much else. I hope for all of our sakes you got a damn miracle up your sleeve!"

Shirou hoped so too. He needed to save Medusa, but how? He couldn't think of a weapon that could adequately answer his needs, one made for purification on this scale. Calling upon his inner bladeworks, he searched for anything that could lead him to the victory he wanted, desperately. Then, his soul answered.

He blacked out.

* * *

Rushing forward with a gasp, Shirou suddenly sat up, finding himself in a familiar scene. The golden blades of grass swayed timelessly under the moon, as the light breeze whistled between endless blades. He knew immediately where he was.

Yet why was he here? Never in the past had he ever been pulled into his inner bladeworks like this. The representation of his soul was meant to be materialized not internalized like this. Again though, he took a moment to admire the majesty of his soul, as foreign as it looked compared to the barren land it used to be.

Then, he suddenly sprang into alertness as a light giggle on the wind whispered into his ear. He immediately turned, remembering what he had tried to explore the last time he was here. The house that had suddenly taken up residence in his soul was right at his feet, the smoke from the forge lightly shrouding the moon overhead, but more importantly, the lights were on.

Cautiously, he stepped forward, wondering. His hands on the sliding door, he paused as more light movement could be heard from the other side of the wall. Immediately, dozens of questions filled his mind, but ultimately, they all converged onto one true question.

Why was there someone else in his soul?

He wasn't going to get any answers standing around though, and with one swift push, moved the door aside, revealing his guest to his eyes.

Shirou had to pause for a moment to make sure he wasn't seeing things. It was a woman, that much was for certain, if evidenced by her ample cleavage that she so proudly wore. The scandalously short, light forest green kimono that did everything in its power to accent her impressive assets.

However, what truly drew his attention were the things on her head, a set of long fox ears, and the three tails that swished around behind her happily. Her pink-peach hair looped into large gravity-defying circles, framing her face. Behind her ears sat a large green bow, twitching appropriately with her appendages. Her golden eyes suddenly locked onto his own though and a curious expression spread upon her face.

"Ah…Hello," she greeted politely, standing up from the tatami mats, giving Shirou a full profile view of the enchanting woman that had apparently taken up residence in his soul.

His gaze began to wander though, and he blinked blankly though at the strange outfitting of the house. It was a lot like his own house with a traditional Japanese style dominating the fixtures. He also couldn't help but notice that it was a lot bigger on the inside, magically enhanced no doubt.

Then there was an even clearer departure from the norm. The large screen TV, fancy couches surrounding the kotatsu and a large antique grandfather clock sitting in the corner painted a rather odd picture when it was all sitting on tatami with various traditional paintings and scrolls hanging on the wall.

"How rude. Not even a response," the woman suddenly said, snapping him out of his daze.

"Ah…sorry about that miss. I'm just really…really confused right now," Shirou apologized reflexively.

"Hmph. Very well, your apology will suffice," she said simply, causing Shirou to laugh nervously.

"Uh…thanks?" the red-headed magus responded, completely thrown off by the sudden change in environments. He then looked to the TV, his eyes bugging out as he saw the looming form of Medusa hanging over his friends. "No! I need to get out of here right now! My friends are…"

"One moment. Wait here, Master" she said suddenly, pushing him onto the couch as she casually walked to the door, humming a nondescript tune, "I'll be back."

"I can't! I have to get back out there and save my friends. They're depending on me!" he said, trying to rush out the door, only for it to suddenly slam shut as the woman's tails past the threshold. Eyes widening in surprise, he tried to pry open the door, only to find that it wouldn't budge an inch no matter how hard he tried.

He started to panic, calling upon his magecraft, only to find, to his horror, that nothing would work. Not a single blade answered his call and even his basic projection magecraft failed him at every turn. A sinking realization settled in his stomach.

Without warning, the large TV turned on again, revealing to Shirou everything that was occurring outside of his soul.

* * *

Mash didn't know what to do now. Her strength was exhausted as she did her best in fending off the attacks of the severely weakened Medusa. She wanted nothing more than to look for her Master, who she could still feel was alive through her bond, but that would mean leaving the Director to die.

"Seems like we're out of luck girls," Caster said through labored breathing, "Guess your Master couldn't pull it off after all."

"I believe in Senpai," Mash said resolutely, as her arms quivered from taking another beating. Marie, who had woken up a few moments ago didn't say anything as her face began to lose all color. She realized right then and there that she was about to die. Her life, as pitiful as it was, flashed in her eyes, and she was filled with nothing but regret.

"There's no need to die here girls. Run while you can. I'll do everything possible to…"

Cu's speech was suddenly cut off as a burst of mana came from bottom of the river, sending up a very neat splash of water into the air. Cu Cuulainn morphed into surprise. While the woman who floated in the air was undoubtedly beautiful, almost beyond compare, what really shocked him was the resonance of divinity he felt.

As the son of Lugh, ruler of the skies and often associated with the sun and storms, Caster's own divinity was very high. Yet, when he looked upon this woman, he felt her own divinity easily overshadowing his own by a multitude of levels. It reminded him distinctly of being in the presence of his own father. Whoever the three-tailed goddess was though, there was no doubt that she was strong.

"How unsightly," the woman said with a sad smile as the Gorgon turned to face the newest and strongest threat. Medusa rumbled angrily in response, trying to swipe the woman out of the air.

Sighing unhappily at the inelegant response from her fellow goddess, she materialized her weapon. A traditional gohei, known famously for its use in Japanese ceremonies, suddenly appeared in her hands. Instead of the blessed paper streamers, however, they were replaced with brilliant white flames.

With a slash of her hand, four rods suddenly shot out from her kimono sleeve, embedding themselves into the riverbed below, forming a square, magical energy illuminating the paths between all the posts.

Medusa, swerved rapidly, attempting to hit the goddess out of the sky, only for her hand to recoil back in pain as a barrier made itself known. Out of fury, she opened her eyes fully, intent on petrifying the upstart challenger with Cybele, only to find the technique ineffective.

"Enough," the floating goddess commanded, her words echoing with an unnatural power, silencing the entire area. "You really are an eyesore."

Caster knew at that singular moment what this unknown Servant was about to unleash.

The fox goddess began to dance, her movement reminiscent of the Kagura dances of old. Her hands twirled the gohei expertly, its flames painting her spell in the air.

"Under the Skies. Under the Moon. Under the Sun. Within the greatest corners of heaven and hell. All are underneath my heavenly realm. I watch. None may besmirch the sacred under my gaze. Repent. Heavenly Judgement of the Exalted Witch Who Roams Between the Sun and Moon!"

For a single moment, nothing happened. Then fire…

The entire box that Medusa had been encapsulated in erupted into shining white flames, sending a pillar of holy fire bursting through the clouds. Caster, Mash and Marie had to shield their eyes from the glorious conflagration as they felt the unnatural power of the flames. Above it all, Medusa's roars of defiance were lost amongst the blaze.

Then as suddenly as it was called, the flames were extinguished, and the floating goddess descended, allowing herself to stand upon the water, a small satisfied smile on her face as the cleared skies from above showcased the beaming moon hidden amongst the smoke.

With a light swish of her gohei, a limp body was fished out of the river, lifted up by a hammock of flames that followed behind the swishing form of the goddess in green.

Caster set himself up defensively as the unknown servant approached. Mash and Marie also set themselves up defensively, scanning the horizon for Shirou, unable to find him anywhere.

"Identify yourself, Servant," Caster boldly demanded, doing his best to hide his weariness. His mana supply was dangerously low, and he wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to maintain his form.

The female servant had a contemplative look on her face, nodding to herself as she gently deposited the fallen form of Medusa at their feet.

"Servant Ruler," she stated simply, and without another word, her form suddenly faded away, revealing the unmoving body of Shirou.

Unable to support himself, he fell forward, barely caught in time by Mash who had dashed forward once she had noticed his lack of awareness. Within moments, he began to stir, his eyes groggily taking in the fact that he was back underneath the burnt sky of Fuyuki once again. Then he remembered.

"Medusa…is she alright?" He scrambled to his feet as he crawled over to the downed form of the Servant his alternate self-had summoned. He breathed a sigh of relief as he noticed the consistent rise and fall of her chest. "Thank goodness."

However, she clearly hadn't come out of the exchange the same, evidenced by the tail and golden claws still present. However, Shirou didn't care. It may not have been all his work, but in the end, she had been saved. Gently, he moved the wet hair out of her face, noting how peaceful it looked. Then, his exhaustion caught up to him as he fell onto his butt and began to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

He happened to forget about one thing though…

"Emiya," Marie's agitated voice suddenly called, her face set into a dangerous grin that promised pain in the coming future, "I have a lot of questions, and since you so kindly offered to explain. I'll start off right now…do you want to explain to me, as concisely as possible, how in the goddam Root's name did you became a Pseudo-Servant?"

Shirou's shoulders slumped, cursing his luck again and the goddess now residing in his soul whose smug chuckles would haunt him for nights to come. It was at this time that he also remembered another essential thing he had somehow forgotten.

Zelretch was a right bastard…

* * *

It's been a long while guys. Sorry about that. I lost a lot of my data a few months back and just kind of put things on the backburner for a while. Though, hopefully I'm back here, especially as I'm finally finishing up grad school.

In Grand/Order news, I'm having an enjoyable time. Pulled lots of my favorites, and I'm really looking forward to the summer event in a few months.

Thanks for reading and reviewing,

Woona the Cat


	5. Ch4: Blades Drawn

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Fate/Stay Night or its associated works.

* * *

Chapter 4 – Blades Drawn

Shirou chuckled nervously as he watched the Director take a few deep, deep breaths. Such exercises reminded him of the thrashing Rin used to visit him with…

"You're fucking kidding me, right?" Marie deadpanned, her hands twitching in a vaguely murderous way, her right eye twitching dangerously as she seriously contemplated blacking out again just to blast this stupid and ridiculous bone head with her best spell, "You're telling me, a third-rate magus, with no training, no history, no family-line, somehow managed to win the Holy Grail War and defeat one of the most powerful heroic spirits known to mankind? That you somehow turned into a Heroic Spirit equivalent in the future by becoming a Counter-Guardian with the ability to copy goddamned Noble Phantasms? And that Zelretch, the freaking Second, sent you here?"

"Uh…to be fair, it was really Rin who won the war," Shirou corrected, wincing at the death-glare that Marie sent his way. She took a deep breath, no doubt trying her best to not explode at the man in front of her, but it was very difficult. Marie began to mutter darkly to herself, gripping the sides of her head in frustration. Shirou grimaced in apology, having experienced many familiar responses from his lover.

"Um…so that's how you know what my shield was, Senpai?" Mash asked, her voice full of awe and respect, "Structural Analysis, right?"

"Yeah," Shirou replied, rubbing the back of his head in some embarrassment. It was such a basic Magus ability, but the way that Mash had stars in her eyes was enough to make even him embarrassed.

"Don't praise this idiotic idiot for doing idiotic things like an idiot!" Olga Marie railed, absolutely certain she had to use the same word four times just to get across how stupid her newest employee was, "His brain should be fried, and his body should be in pieces at this point! He should be a walking vegetable at this point!"

"Director!"

"No, she's right. I should have died a long time ago," Shirou answered truthfully, chuckling mirthlessly. Emiya Shirou should have died in that fire, but he had been saved. He had been helped every step along the way, and to this day, he hoped to someday honor everything he had received. "I've been very fortunate."

"Fortunate? More like destined," Cu Chulainn added with a small scoff, rubbing his temples in a bit of disbelief. He had seen some ridiculous things, hell even participated in some, but this was definitely up there in terms of crazy. "At least you know about this Grail War, right?"

"I know enough," the red-haired magus replied affirmatively, "You and Medusa confirmed what I had suspected. This Singularity is very similar to my own universe's version of events. There are only a few slight tweaks here and there, but the structure seems the same. Other than the sudden cataclysm…"

"No idea what caused that either," Cu said with a deep frown, clenching his fist at the fact that his Master had just been unceremoniously killed out of nowhere, "It seemed like a normal Holy Grail War. Then this shit happened. Have you learned anything from Lancer?"

Shirou shook his head, gesturing to the still unconscious woman in his lap. The curse that had turned Medusa into a corrupted Heroic Spirit had been cleansed completely by the Servant that was now living in his soul. It was a testament to her purification powers that even the surrounding area had been affected. However, the purple-haired Servant had yet to wake.

"What are the plans now?" Mash asked, "We're still not exactly sure what the cause of the singularity is."

"Actually," a familiar voice interjected, revealing the relieved face of Dr. Romani, "We are. You all almost gave me a heart attack with that battle by the way. I almost felt like I was going to faint when you disappeared for a second Emiya-san." Fou also began to yip in response, clearly worried for his adopted child. "With Emiya-san's story, we've confirmed that the origin of this singularity is without a doubt the Holy Grail. If you manage to retrieve it, the singularity should re-align itself with the timeline and self-correct."

"We're sure now?" Marie asked, some concern in her voice, "Wouldn't the Grail dissipate if it was used to corrupt the time period?" A granted wish would use up all the stored energy of the Grail, and it would disappear back into the metaphysical realm until the system began again.

"That's just the thing…We're almost certain that the Grail has been manifested. The wish hasn't been used, but it's being used as a conduit to sustain the destabilization of this time period along with the corruption there." The Director frowned in worry.

"But who…or what would have the power and knowledge to directly manipulate the Grail System in such a way? It took the three families to first even conceive of the system, and hundreds of magi and decades of work. Not to mention the use of Magic," Marie wondered, feeling the danger spike at the revelation that they were facing an enemy that was not only strong enough to manipulate the Grail, but was able to use it to wipe out humanity in a single afternoon. The depth of planning and knowledge required was mindboggling.

"We don't know," Romani answered seriously, clearly frustrated, "And there's not much I can do to help either. We're all flying in blind here, and it's really only thanks to Emiya-san's timely arrival that we've managed to get this far." Olga knew that all too well. She wouldn't be alive either without his intervention…

"There's nothing to do but keep moving forward," Shirou answered resolutely, doing his best to ignore the exhaustion plaguing his body. He was already planning for future encounters with the enemy Servants but would need to check with Caster to see if his strategies would hold up. "For now, we need to rest and regroup." While he had new skills and powers from Zelretch's fusion, his entire body felt like lead. Even if he had the knowledge, he was still just a human in the end.

The rest of them agreed, and with Caster deciding to start the watch, Shirou found himself drifting off to sleep, his hand still tangled in the mess of purple hair on his lap.

* * *

Stirring, Shirou knew he had yet to really wake in the real world, finding himself back in the mismatched room of the small cottage in his soul. Some anxiousness filled his mind as he recognized the presence of only one other possible being in the room with him. His previous experience of being forcibly taken over by the woman left a bad taste in his mouth. Even if it had achieved what he wanted, it was still a lingering worry hanging over him.

Swinging himself up from the comfy couch, which he still found absolutely ridiculous, Shirou stared at the tailed woman patiently sitting at the kotatsu in front of the television, idly flipping through the channels of his life-story…or stories. Zelretch's infusion of his other selves made for some interesting storytelling at least. He watched in silence, awaiting the Servant's first move.

"Do you believe the soul is infinite?" the fox woman asked out of the blue, "Does it remember everything that has ever happened to it? Or does it discard needless memories and experiences to maintain itself?" On the screen, that accursed fire raged, the sounds of suffering and cries of pain echoing darkly in the small room, even if it was a mere memory. He looked away, staring out the window at the moon overhead.

"I can't say I know," Shirou admitted easily. The woman snorted, almost derisively.

"You should know more than most," Ruler answered, her tails swishing a bit more in agitation, "Though that foolish vampire surely didn't. Or perhaps he did, which makes it all the more heinous…"

"What do you mean?" he asked, a bit hesitantly, "I haven't felt any really bad effects yet. Other than the memories…" She laughed ruefully, turning around, her eyes piercing as she stood regally, strolling out of the house, her tails beckoning him to follow. He followed, ready to back outside where he could feel the call of his blades.

The moon came back into full view, glowing softly in the sky with the stars. The light breeze was comforting, and the two stared out past the vast expanse of rice-fields glinting with steel.

Bending down the fox woman lightly caressed one blade of swaying rice, before abruptly yanking it from the ground where it stood. Shirou stared, confused. She twiddled the blade in her hand, humming contemplatively before carefully placing it back down where it magically reattached itself into the clear waters. Shirou suddenly flinched, feeling as if someone had stabbed him with a needle in the arm

Shirou could only stare, some comprehension dawning in his eyes, and with it, came fear.

"Do you now feel it Emiya Shirou? Every glade here filled with blades, steel and not, are yours," she sated with a wave of her hand, her golden eyes conveying the severity of what she had just revealed, "Imagine that feeling, and magnify it by millions." He shuddered.

"Any normal human would have died from it within hours. A soul is meant to carry only one set of memories, dreams and pains. Yet that vampire saw it fit to fit you with hundreds, if not thousands of souls, each a slightly different copy of your own." Shirou had no doubt that the only reason he'd had a chance to survive was due to his compatibility.

She plucked another rice grain, offering it to her host. Hesitantly, Shirou grabbed it.

Instantly, he was assaulted by memories of another Shirou. Having lost his arm in the Holy Grail War, he had been grafted the arm of Archer, a spiritual entity. The pain had been intense and so dangerous that Kirei Kotomine had seen it fit to gift him with the Shroud of Martin to mitigate the pain and encroachment of Archer's psyche. The burning sensation was exactly the same.

He growled, swearing that he was going to stab that bastard vampire a few hundred times with Black Keys the next time he ran into him.

"Then how am I alive?" he asked. He should have been nothing more than a pile of blood and swords now. If only the spiritual entity of one Heroic Spirit who was also coincidentally himself was enough to make him feel like he was dying every time in another universe…

Holding her hand out, Shirou paused in confusion. Returning the blade of memory, he watched in awe as she began to chant, the blade of grass transforming into a seed. Carefully, she lowered herself and tenderly planted the seed into the muddy ground, her chant continuing. Seconds later, the blade sprouted and returned to swaying in the wind with its brothers.

He hadn't felt a thing.

"Because of you," he stated, bewildered and amazed, "You planted…this? All of this? By hand!?" Ruler simply nodded.

"It is the natural way. And the only way," she answered seriously, "The Vampire is lucky that my particular set of skills was suited to helping you. Though I suspect the cur knew that." Shirou stared, trying to figure out who the mysterious Servant who had saved him could possibly be. There weren't many that were known to have fox ears and tails….

"Who are you?" he finally managed to ask, feeling his soul shudder at the question. The air stilled as the woman regarded him intensely, as if judging if he was worthy. While he had always felt confident in the confines of his Bladeworks, he knew the truth now.

It was no longer just his own soul.

"For better or for worse, I am now tied to you for eternity, Emiya Shirou," the woman answered softly, looking off into the distance, remembering something painful, "Why did I decide to save you…Even I do not fully understand." The sword-magus kept quiet, feeling the somber and serious air around them. "I am not the true face. I am but a facet, yet her desires echo just as strongly even now, thousands of years later…" She sighed uncertainly. Then she turned to face the red-haired magus, her expression searching.

"My origin is Tamamo no Mae, the accursed fox-priestess chosen by Amaterasu, the Monster of Japan slain in the golden fields of Nasu. The Original, cursed herself, and shed her nine-tails into the ether as repentance. I am the ninth tail, the one that caused her to ascend into the realm of divinity."

Shirou blanched. He now had a greater understanding of the sheer depth of power that Ruler possessed. Divine Spirits were said to be almost impossible to summon into reality, mainly due to their nature as being higher beings. They were forces of the Earth that could not be tamed. If she had so wished, Shirou had no doubt that she could have taken over his soul and body in an instant.

He suddenly froze as an assault of memories entered his consciousness. A Nameless Archer, a criminal in the eyes of the world, dying to betrayal and nuclear fire... He became a Hero just as he died, reappearing to a girl who would become his Master, even going to far as to develop an affection for the girl. Images of the Mooncell, a Red Saber, Nero, and Tamamo filled his mind.

"My name is Tamamo no Hime, the unrecognized princess of Japan, Earth and Heaven," Hime said, her power flaring as light like the sun illuminated the fields, reflecting off the water and blades of rice, "I am the tail of pride, the tail that represents divinity and Amaterasu's will. I am Servant Ruler." Then she kneeled down on the ground, bowing deeply in a dogeza. Shirou stared.

"I ask that you take care of me well, Husband."

* * *

Shirou awoke with a gasp, feeling numb as he came back to the real world, almost missing the softness underneath his head and the hand that was tenderly raking through his hair. He stared up at the soft expression of Medusa, unhappy that her face seemed to suddenly morph into doubt.

"Is it uncomfortable?" she murmured, holding up her left hand which had been transformed into a claw. It hurt to watch her familiar face, usually serene and confident, look so unsure. Shirou didn't like it.

"It's lovely," he answered honestly, having completely forgotten about the fact that her hands had been transformed after the battle. A small flitting of red flashed across her cheeks, but it was clear that Medusa was pleased.

Neither of them said another word, both of them deciding to enjoy the other's company. For Shirou, it was nice to see a familiar face again, and his memories from another life filled him with affection for the usually quiet woman.

Lancer was overcome with emotion. She wanted nothing more than to take her Master away and keep him safe forever. She had watched him die once already, but to know that he had somehow come back and had saved her filled her darkened heart with joy. He wasn't exactly the same, but he was Emiya Shirou. It was enough, and the familiarity in his gaze made her extremely happy.

Shirou was thinking though. He held back his urge to sigh a bit as he recalled what he had just learned inside of his now-shared soul.

Husband…

Rin was going to murder him.

"You two lovebirds done yet?" an amused voice asked as he entered the makeshift shelter they had set up, "I'm a guy too you know. I'll get jealous." Cu sat down on the nearest pile of debris, smirking at the way that Medusa continued to comb through Shirou's hair without a care in the world. "Damn. If I'd have known you were such an attentive lover, I'd have made a pass sooner." Medusa glared, debating whether or not to turn Caster into a rock.

"Are Mash and the Director up?" Shirou asked, sitting up, much to the dislike of his current caretaker. She didn't complain though. It wasn't her place.

"A few minutes ago, actually. I'd stay clear of the little spitfire for a little bit longer. She's still ranting to poor shield-girl that you're a cheat. Your little Kohai had to take her out for a walk," he said with a chuckle. It had been rather amusing to watch the girl tirade to the patient but also scared Demi-Servant from her back. "Though she may be a bit upset because I insinuated that she'd rather seduce you for your secrets rather than kill you."

Shirou groaned, rubbing his temples tiredly. He had forgotten how much of a pain in the ass Cu Chulainn really could be sometimes. The man loved only three things, sex, battle and messing with people. Fishing was a close fourth…

"What are our plans for the rest of the Servants?" Shirou asked. Now that Lancer was awake, he could figure out who the Servants in this war were and if they lined up with his reality. He needed to confirm their identities. "Let's start with…Assassin? Know anything about them?"

"No idea. Supposedly he died really early in an attack against Berserker. Some dude with a skull mask." Cu answered, frowning.

"He's absolutely not dead then," Shirou insisted, looking around reflexively, "If everything lines up with what I know. The assassin is Hassan-I-Sabbah of the Cursed Arm. We need to be careful, he killed both Caster, who was one of the strongest mages ever, and her Master, an experienced assassin in one of my timelines…"

"Ehh, he's just an Assassin. What's the worst he could do?"

"In that universe, he killed you, when you were a Lancer," Shirou replied seriously, watching as the amusement dropped from his temporarily-contracted Servant, "He possesses the ability to create and manipulate a fake heart of his opponent. Then he curses and crushes it, causing the real one to be destroyed in an instant." Medusa and Cu stared, both unnerved by the sheer lethality of such an ability.

"Well shit," Cu replied, grimacing. If he had lost in his strongest summonable state, then his chances were much lower than he had expected. The ability sounded a lot like Gae Bolg, and it likely had the same weaknesses. He'd have to stay out of range if he ever found himself in a fight with Assassin. There was no way in hell he was relying on his luck.

"Let's just list em off," Caster said, not wanting to hear more ways they were likely going to die, "Tell us who was in the war you were in." Shirou nodded.

"Caster was Medea of Colchis. Rider was you, Medusa. Berserker was Heracles. Saber was…Arthur Pendragon. And Archer was myself from an alternate future where I became a Counter Guardian." They would have commented on the implausibility of that last sentence, but Medusa's defeat was enough to sway them.

Cu let off a monumental sigh embedded in his curse.

"Well fuck," the Celtic Hero conceded, "If your Grail War matches with this one…we're not looking so good. Heracles…King Arthur…"

"Medea was the most dangerous of them all," Shirou said with a frown, remembering that witch's abilities and what she had done to them, "Her ability as a magus from the Age of the Gods wasn't just a title. She cheated the system herself by summoning her own Servant, even if he was degraded. She could also steal Servants." He didn't hate her per say, and there were plenty of universes where they were friends. However, he couldn't forget what she had done to him in his own universe. The pure pain in his Servant's eyes still haunted him to this day.

"What did she look like by the way?"

"Petite. Sky-blue Hair. Similarly, colored eyes. Distinct set of elfish ears. Relatively short." Shirou described.

"Damn," Cu cursed, combing his hand through his hair, "It's definitely her then. She's Rider in this War. No idea what her mount is though."

"And the others?" Shirou pressed.

"If your future self is a dark-skinned asshole with bleached hair, then yeah it's you. Saber's a girl though so it's prob..."

"It is Saber…I mean King Arthur," Shirou cut off, unable to keep the fondness out of his voice.

"She was your Servant, wasn't she?" Lancer asked, feeling just a bit jealous. Unable to lie, Shirou nodded. Lancer gripped his waist in response, feeling a bit possessive all of a sudden.

"That big mass of muscle must be Heracles then…which is all of them," Cu continued, ignoring his fellow Servant's actions, more pressed on the new information that had come to light. It wasn't looking good for them honestly. The legends surrounding all of them were extremely well-known, other than Archer's. However, he had just watched his alternate-self take on a Beast and win, so counting him out was just asking to die. "I have to be honest kid, this is looking grimmer that I would like."

"There's no other choice," Shirou said with a sigh, "We can only continue. It's the only way to end this."

Marie and Mash didn't take very well to the new information. Mash was wringing her hands nervously as she mentally tried to prepare herself. While she was confident she would one day be an excellent Servant for Shirou, it was an undeniable fact that she, right now, was inexperienced and relatively weak. She could only pray that her Master would be able to see them through the oncoming trials.

Marie was having a lot of trouble trying to stomach the fact that she was going to go up against figures of legend with powers beyond her comprehension. Having first-hand experience now with the volume of destructive power that a single Servant could possess, she was wary to have to potentially fight five more. Just thinking about how easily they could die sent her into a panic.

Their trek was silent as they delved deeper into the city, the threat of battle looming over them more potent than the thickening smoke overhead. Despite their early victory, all of them knew that their trial had only just begun.

* * *

Shirou lead the group, feeling on edge as they neared the heart of the city. The monsters had increased in strength and abundance notably, and every building they passed was a potential nest of necromantic monsters waiting to pounce. Luckily, with an effective count of basically four Servants, their way forward was smooth enough.

"So, find anything new about that Servant you're hosting?" Cu asked out of nowhere as he batted away another charging band of skeletons, incinerating their remains promptly after. Shirou was quiet, unsure of what he was comfortable with revealing. While he didn't necessarily distrust any of his companions, Shirou felt as if it wasn't his place to tell Hime's story.

"Why?" he asked as they continued through the streets, keeping an eye on all the possible locations that he would have attempted to snipe from. His ears were trained on the characteristic whizzing sound of his favored long-range attack. Archer wouldn't give them a second to waste.

"Just curious. She felt a lot like my pops. Divine and whatnot…" Caster revealed lazily before a smirk appeared on his face, "Plus she was a real looker." Shirou coughed.

"You know it'd still be Emiya inside, right?" Marie asked with a quirked eyebrow. Cu shrugged.

"If they look good, why care? I sure didn't when I was alive," he said with a boisterous laugh, "Don't worry though. I'll let you have the first round with him alright?" Marie's entire face lit up immediately. Lancer growled, standing ever so closer to her Master, her gold tail hovering just over his backside protectively.

"Shut up!" Olga hissed, her entire face pink, "I swear to the Root that…"

"So, you're telling me if that if Emiya over there offered his secrets, all his secrets, for sex, you wouldn't take it?" Cu asked brazenly, an evil smirk on his face as he saw the conflict pass through Marie's eyes. As a magus, even one as unorthodox as her, she would be out of her mind to refuse. Any magus wouldn't be caught dead turning down unknown knowledge and an untapped advantage.

And unfortunately for Marie, it was enough to make her face even redder as she seriously considered the hypothetical question. Caster laughed.

"That's enough, Caster," Shirou scolded, decidedly uncomfortable with where this talk was heading. He did not want to think about the potential consequences of such a strange conversation.

"I say we just get rid of him," Lancer said with an undisguised glare, "It would be more merciful to put down diseased dogs."

"OI!"

The laughter and banter were a welcome change to the gloomy and inescapably dark environment that the group had found themselves in. However, Shirou knew it wasn't going to last. As they entered the main heart of the dilapidated city, the air choked with even denser malice. He felt sick as he noted the thick layer of ash that covered every single surface of the once-beautiful city, the remains of all that lived there once.

His ears heard it just in time, jumping back as a sword embedded itself into the ground with a clean stab, as if the Earth offered no resistance to the steel. Shirou looked up, finding exactly who he had known would come.

On top of the highest tower, a lone man stood, his face impassive as a large black bow was held in his hands. However, Shirou couldn't help but notice his lack of action. Archer wouldn't have hesitated to blow them all up with Caladbolg II, an attack of his own making. Yet, he had only fired a simple sword at his feet. Tracing told him it was nothing more than an ordinary blade made in the twentieth century by some relatively unknown smith in Europe.

Shirou held up his hand to stop his comrades, noting their tense faces. The Servants had likely sensed the attack, but Mash and Marie were more than on edge as the sword disappeared into blue motes of light.

"That's him," Shirou confirmed as Lancer and Caster readied themselves for battle. With some trepidation, he watched the Servant of the Bow jump from his position, landing gracefully right in front of them, his face empty. "EMIYA."

"So, you do remember," the man snarked, his face grim as he folded his arms, "Leave brat."

"You're not affected?" Lancer asked, her brows quirked in surprise, "Then you know what has been done to the Grail." Archer growled, his fingers flexing noticeably around intangible blades.

"Of course, I know, but I have been infected," he pointed out, tilting his head at the slight wisps of black that were leaking from his shoulder, "I'm not stupid, but even I have my limits. I was forced with a contract."

"Rule Breaker?" Shirou pointed out with a stare, knowing that it was one of their shared trump cards.

"You think it's so easy?" Archer spat out, irritation on his face as he thought of his proverbial chains, all of them, "The corruption is deep. The being that caused all of this to happen is powerful, stronger than you have ever faced, kid." Weariness seemed to encapsulate his entire body as he stared down the group of Heroes. "I've tried to escape you know. But I'm sure you know how well my attempts at getting out of unbreakable contracts are." His voice was dry, but even Shirou could feel the pain in his voice. Despite all of their differences, Archer was Emiya Shirou.

"Then how come you're not attacking?" Caster asked, suspicious. Archer had never been one for chivalry. Sneak attacks, poisons, long range attacks in the dead of night…they were all on the table for the ruthless Servant.

"I promised her," Archer answered, an unhappy expression on his face as he was reminded.

"Rin?" Shirou asked. EMIYA didn't even listen to her on a good day. Hell, he had betrayed her explicitly in multiple different universes. True to his assumptions, Archer scoffed, a wry expression on his face.

"Hardly," he answered, "I would have killed you all where you stood if I had my way. Leave. Find another way to the Grail." He began to turn around, uncaring of how his enemies would react.

Caster, however, stared at the invisible line that Archer had drawn, and with a bold step, passed it. Instantly, he ducked, finding the sharp zing of metal whizzing through the air in his ears, the White Married Blade barely missing his head.

"So, you are compelled," Caster said, observing the eruption of black miasma from Archer's shoulder and arms. The Servant grit his teeth, willing his body to obey him once again. With noticeable effort, the black mist began to dissipate, leaving the bowman in control of his body once more. He frowned. "A different form of control but controlled nonetheless. A gatekeeper of sorts perhaps."

Cu had an inkling that any other way to the Grail would be fraught with traps, monsters and likely any other number of hindrances that would prevent them from realistically reaching the Holy Cup. It would be like telling a human to climb to the top of a mountain, starting from inside of it and digging up. Essentially impossible…

"Do you want us to leave, Archer?" Shirou asked, his eyes sharp as he stared at the slightly shaking form of his alternate self. Never had he ever seen the infuriating man allow himself to show such weakness. Even when he was suffering and dying, he would continue to fight, resolute in his purpose. Archer stared at the mirror image of his younger self and smirked, his hollow, pained eyes conveying his wishes.

"Do whatever you want, you misguided fool," he said, shaking his head. Two pairs of Bakuya and Kanshou appeared.

Then, they stepped over.

* * *

A/N

We're back at it. Been prepping this one for a while but had to figure out how to break up the fact that the first singularity doesn't really allow for much side-stuff. It's basically, one fight after the other in a place basically equivalent to hell after all…

Anyways, we're getting on to it soon. Hopefully, I can deliver some good action scenes and story for the upcoming Archer fight.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

-Woona the Cat

P.S. Also a great shout out to everyone whose favorited, followed and reviewed. I'm amazed and humbled by the support. Hope to keep you all on in the future! And a belated Happy Thanksgiving.


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